Fast-tracked power plants fuel AI boom, with little public scrutiny

Over the past year, that view has been replaced by cranes, steel and dust as work crews build Meta’s 800-acre Bowling Green data center. More alarming was the appearance of something Kidd hadn’t been told about: construction of a large natural gas power plant meant to serve the project.

"It’s not like we’re two streets away. We’re literally across the street," Kidd said, pointing toward the Apollo Generating Station site in Wood County, about 25 miles south of Toledo. "I’m living next to a threat."

The plant is one of dozens of large, off-grid power projects being approved rapidly and often under a cover of secrecy across the United States to supply the tech industry’s booming demand for powering data centers, according to a Reuters review of regulatory filings and interviews with public officials, residents, researchers and company executives.

These plants are quickly moving ahead without the years of permitting, environmental studies and public hearings typically required for such plants. Developers argue such off-grid plants for private customers are exempt from many of these rules.

That's left residents with little notice about plants affecting their air quality and the climate.

Further reducing transparency, some developers have used non-disclosure agreements with local governments or operated through shell companies, while local officials have redacted public documents or fast-tracked permitting processes that would have required public hearings, the reporting shows.

The AI industry’s off-the-grid natural-gas generation “is emerging as one of the largest under-examined air-quality risks in the country," said Michael Cork, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University.

The Apollo facility was approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board on Feb. 3 — less than three months after plans were submitted. The state's draft air permit wasn’t publicly available until March, after construction started, records show. While the plant will serve only Meta, the paperwork had listed the facility’s client as a subsidiary, Liames LLC.

Data provided by research firm Cleanview shows there are at least 57 off-grid U.S. power plants proposed or under construction to serve individual data centers in the United States. 

Reuters identified more than a dozen such projects that won approval in under a year, with little or no notice to residents.

Two of these plants are already operating, including SpaceX's AI facility outside Memphis and another in Ashburn, Virginia, serving Vantage Data Centers.

Most of the facilities are fueled by natural gas, which emits nitrogen oxides and fine-particulate pollution linked to respiratory illness when burned, along with climate-damaging greenhouse gases.

Supporters say such projects are essential for rapid artificial-intelligence development, serving tech companies without hiking consumer electricity prices.

The Trump administration, citing China as a competitive rival, wants accelerated permitting for AI-sector infrastructure. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and states including Ohio, West Virginia, Texas and Utah have proposed or adopted policies to speed approval.

The EPA told Reuters it is taking a deliberate, governance-driven approach as it works to make America "the AI Capital of the World," noting that state and local governments often control permitting.

The Data Center Coalition, which represents companies including Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, said data-center developers were "committed to being responsible neighbors" while accessing critical power supplies.

Too fast to stop

Ohio made AI power-project approvals faster with a law last year allowing certain plants to win approval in as little as 45 days without public hearings.

State officials promote data-center development as an economic opportunity, especially in northwest Ohio, where land, water access and proximity to natural-gas pipelines have drawn tech-company interest.

Gary Thompson, executive vice president at northwest Ohio’s Regional Growth Partnership, said officials hope to attract 10 hyperscale data centers to the area.

Some residents want moderation.

"One gas plant and one data center may be manageable, but four or more becomes a regional public health event," said Perrysburg resident Lauren Berlekamp.

The Apollo project is being built by Will Power LLC, a subsidiary of pipeline company Williams Cos.

The company is developing four similar projects in the state that can be built in 18 to 24 months, Williams spokesperson Kyle Tarpley said. He noted the Ohio EPA held a public hearing on Apollo in April.

Meta, Apollo’s financier, said its partners must comply with air-quality regulations.

Secrecy and scrutiny

Ohio lawmakers also recently passed provisions shielding big projects like data centers from public records laws. Officials releasing such information could be criminally charged, according to the measure.

The confidentiality provision was added by Republican state Sen. Brian Chavez, who did not respond to requests for comment. His top two donors in 2025 were a construction union that supports data center development and utility NiSource, both of whom contributed $10,000, according to a review of election finance documents.

Supporters say such measures protect sensitive business information. Critics say they reduce transparency and limit community input.

"It undermines our fundamental concepts of democracy: transparency and accountability," said Andrew Kear, a Bowling Green State University political scientist.

Christine Coultrip of Perrysburg Township, Ohio, agreed. She said her neighbors have been approached to sell property for a possible data center, but that local officials won't provide her any details.

"I’m very disturbed that legislators can be charged if they talk about data center economics with their constituents," she said.

Secrecy has drawn backlash in other states.

Microsoft said in March it would stop using non-disclosure agreements nationwide after criticism over projects in Wisconsin.

Meta said confidentiality agreements are standard in site selection processes and do not prevent partners from engaging with the public.

Still, details of the Bowling Green project were obscured for nearly two years under the name "Project Accordion," filed through Liames LLC. 

Questions about permitting and oversight have also surfaced in Tennessee and Mississippi, where Elon Musk’s xAI has operated gas turbines without permits to power its Colossus data centers, Reuters has reported.

The company has said the units are exempt because they are temporary and not connected to the grid.

In West Virginia, lawmakers passed legislation last year exempting certain data center microgrids from local zoning laws.

A large gas plant proposed in Tucker County received a state air permit the same year. Public documents showed key technical details were redacted, which officials said was necessary to protect confidential information.

Community concerns

Brian Rothenberg, a township trustee near Columbus, Ohio, told Reuters his community recently learned of plans for a gas fuel-cell power plant, which would be the biggest of its kind in the U.S., to serve an Amazon Web Services data center.

He said township officials are seeking details about the plant to ensure a nearby elementary school is safe in the case of an emergency, but that utility AEP and state regulators have not provided them.

AEP told Reuters it has provided emergency information about the project directly to local fire departments and first responders. Ohio’s EPA told Reuters it cannot discuss the project pending a legal challenge to its permit.

Daycare operator Kidd said she worries about the same risks.

"For my family and my daycare families, their safety is my No. 1 priority, and I feel like right now I can’t guarantee that," she said. "It’s all out of our hands."

Additional reporting by Eric Cox and Disha Raychaudhuri.