| Perry Technology Park Data Center
Perry Village, Ohio | May 2026 |
The following responses address specific questions submitted by a Perry Village resident about the Perry Technology Park data center project at Champion Farm. Each response is grounded in the project’s specific design, commitments, and applicable regulatory requirements.
Environmental & Wildlife
Q: Have any environmental studies been conducted to assess the presence of protected species, specifically the Northern Long-Eared Bat?
Yes. Environmental due diligence is a standard and legally required component of responsible land development, and the Perry Technology Park project has conducted and/or commissioned the appropriate assessments.
The Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis, or NLEB) was reclassified from “threatened” to “endangered” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) effective March 31, 2023 making ESA compliance a legal requirement for any project with a federal nexus or that involves activities that could affect the species or its habitat. Ohio is within the NLEB’s known geographic range.
For development projects such as the Perry Technology Park, the primary concern with the NLEB relates to tree clearing activities, as the bat relies on forested habitat for summer roosting and foraging. The Champion Farm site is agricultural land (and some is still being farmed) and old plant stock from the former nursery (not mature forested habitat) which materially reduces the likelihood of documented NLEB presence or significant habitat impact compared to heavily wooded sites. The Champion Farm site lacks the features the NLEB relies on during summer and does not contain the caves and abandoned mines that they hibernate in during the winter.
Regardless of site conditions, any project involving potential habitat disturbance follows a structured regulatory process under the Endangered Species Act. This includes habitat assessment, presence/absence surveys using acoustic monitoring and/or mist-netting protocols approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and where applicable, formal Section 7 consultation with USFWS through the federal permitting process. The project team is following all applicable federal and Ohio wildlife protection requirements which must be completed prior to ground-breaking.
| Key Takeaway: The Perry Technology Park project is subject to all applicable federal Endangered Species Act requirements, just like any other project. The agricultural character of the Champion Farm site is distinct from the forested habitat the Northern Long-Eared Bat primarily depends on. All required environmental assessments and required consultation will be conducted in accordance with and as required by USFWS guidance and Ohio law. |
Power & Capacity
Q: How many megawatts (MW) will the full campus require at build-out?
The Perry Technology Park is designed as a phased, multi-building campus and the exact MW load will be determined during the final building design as it is a function of server rack density, building footage, and design parameters. Many modern data center campuses are far larger than what has been proposed in Perry. Before any of capacity can be drawn from the grid, however, the full proposed campus load is subject to comprehensive independent engineering review by FirstEnergy and by PJM Interconnection (the regional grid operator), with federal regulatory oversight on top of both.
This combination of a multi-year, phased build-out paired with a rigorous, comprehensive up-front review of the full proposed load is not just a developer preference. It reflects how regulated electricity service in the United States actually works, and it provides one of the most meaningful safeguards the community can rely on.
Layer 1: FirstEnergy Interconnection Review.
FirstEnergy will conduct a comprehensive interconnection review of the proposed campus. That review begins with a conceptual load study, progresses through a service feasibility evaluation, and then a detailed load study that models the project’s full proposed power demand against the local distribution and transmission system. FirstEnergy’s engineering teams confirm that the campus’s full proposed load can be reliably served without compromising service to existing customers, and a service agreement is executed only after all analysis is complete. The dual independent transmission circuits already on the Champion Farm property are a key infrastructure advantage for the project. FirstEnergy’s review is also a regulated process — the utility has both a legal obligation to its existing customers and a regulatory obligation, under the oversight of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), to ensure that any new large load is interconnected in a manner that does not degrade service reliability for the surrounding community.
Layer 2: PJM Interconnection Review.
Beyond FirstEnergy, the project must also be reviewed and approved by PJM Interconnection, the federally-regulated regional transmission organization that operates the bulk power grid across Ohio and twelve other states plus the District of Columbia. PJM conducts independent system impact and reliability studies for new large loads, and its approval is required before significant new demand can be added to the regional grid. PJM’s review evaluates power flow, voltage stability, generation adequacy, and reliability across the broader regional system — not just within FirstEnergy’s local service territory. As data center load growth has accelerated nationally, PJM has implemented additional scrutiny and process reforms specifically targeted at large new loads, raising the bar on what new projects must demonstrate before they can interconnect. This is a layer of independent, regional, technically rigorous review that operates entirely outside the developer’s and the host utility’s control.
Layer 3: Federal Oversight.
Sitting above PJM is a federal regulatory framework administered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and supported by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). FERC has direct authority over PJM’s interconnection rules, transmission tariffs, and reliability obligations under the Federal Power Act, and PJM cannot approve a new interconnection that fails to meet the FERC-approved rules of its Open Access Transmission Tariff. NERC, in turn, sets the mandatory reliability standards that govern the bulk electric system, with FERC enforcement. The U.S. Department of Energy provides additional federal-level monitoring, analysis, and policy oversight of grid reliability, particularly as data center load growth has accelerated in recent years.
What this means for the community.
The cumulative effect of these reviews is significant. The Perry Technology Park cannot interconnect to or draw power from the grid until FirstEnergy, PJM, and, where applicable, federal authorities have independently confirmed, through engineering studies rather than assurances, that the regional system can reliably support the project’s full proposed load. The community is protected by a layered, technically rigorous, and externally enforced review framework that the project has no ability to short-circuit, and the Perry Technology Park must pass that review on its merits before it can come online.
| Key Takeaway: The Perry Technology Park’s power cannot be drawn from the grid until it has been independently studied and approved through one of the most robust regulatory frameworks governing infrastructure in the United States. That framework includes a comprehensive interconnection review by FirstEnergy under the oversight of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, independent system impact and reliability studies by PJM Interconnection (the federally-regulated regional grid operator), and the mandatory reliability standards administered by FERC and NERC at the federal level. These are technically rigorous, externally enforced engineering reviews — not developer assurances — and the project cannot interconnect or come online until each layer has independently confirmed that the regional system can reliably support its full proposed load. The community is protected by a layered review process that the project has no ability to short-circuit and must pass on its merits. |
Noise & Acoustics
Q: What are the projected decibel levels at the property line and at the nearest homes?
Noise management is a top design priority for the Perry Technology Park, and the project is committed to operating well within Perry Village’s stringent local noise regulations.
The Village has adopted a stringent, enforceable noise standard.
As part of the project’s review, Perry Village adopted a property-line noise limit of 65 dBA, a level consistent with normal conversation and chosen specifically to protect the surrounding community. This is not an aspirational target. It is a real, measurable, enforceable limit that the project is required to meet at every point along its property line, and the Village has both the legal authority and the practical ability to measure compliance using calibrated sound-level equipment at any time of day or night. If a measurement ever indicated non-compliance, the Village has the authority to issue a notice of violation, compel corrective action, seek injunctive relief in court, and assess civil penalties and the project would be required to address the issue, at its own expense, to meet compliance. The Village’s enforcement authority is independent of the developer and is the most direct mechanism residents have to ensure the project performs as committed over the long term.
How the project will meet that standard.
Compliance with the 65 dBA property-line limit is engineered into the project from the outset rather than treated as a problem to address after the fact. The project’s noise management approach combines three layers of mitigation.
Equipment selection. The data center will use modern, low-noise mechanical equipment — variable-speed cooling fans, quietly-rated heat-rejection equipment, sound-dampened backup generator enclosures with critical-grade exhaust silencers, and acoustically optimized rooftop and yard equipment selected specifically for low-noise data center applications. Equipment selection is the single largest lever for reducing noise at the source, and the project is committed to meeting the standards through the specification process. Importantly, there have been major strides in the acoustic design of data center equipment over the last few years so a modern data center will operate more quietly than many existing data centers.
Sound attenuation measures. In addition to low-noise equipment, the project will incorporate multiple layers of physical sound attenuation, including acoustic enclosures around mechanical equipment, acoustic louvers, sound attenuation blankets, sound-rated mechanical room construction, back-up generator enclosures, strategic building orientation that places noisier equipment on the sides of the campus furthest from residential receptors, and earthen berms and dense landscape buffering between the campus and the property line.
Site planning and design. Setbacks, building placement, and the orientation of cooling equipment are designed to take advantage of distance attenuation, with mechanical equipment positioned away from residences and toward the interior of the campus wherever possible. The setback requirements combined with the required 6-8 foot tall earthen berms and landscaping buffer the project from the property lines. Further, the setbacks, earthen berms and landscaping are required to be enhanced at sensitive edge conditions and the earthen berm with landscaping is shown below:
Verifying compliance: the site-specific acoustic study.
A formal site-specific acoustic study will be conducted by qualified acoustical engineers as part of the project prior to construction. Unlike generic predictions or worst-case modeling drawn from other facilities, this study will be built on Perry-specific data: actual equipment sound specifications, the specific attenuation measures (acoustic louvers, sound blankets, enclosures, walls, berms) selected for this project, the project’s actual building placement and orientation, the setbacks, and the landscaping. The study will model predicted sound levels at the property line and its results will form the basis for the project’s design and for the specific commitments the project is obligated to deliver. After construction, the Village’s measurement and enforcement authority is what verifies ongoing compliance day-to-day.
The bottom line.
Acoustical professionals measure noise using A-weighted decibels (dBA), which are calibrated to how the human ear perceives sound. Perry Village’s 65 dBA property-line limit is a stringent standard, and the project’s combination of low-noise equipment, multiple layers of physical attenuation, careful site planning, verification testing, and the Village’s ongoing measurement and enforcement authority is specifically designed to ensure that the project meets that standard every hour of every day.
| Key Takeaway: Perry Village has adopted a stringent, enforceable property-line noise standard of 65 dBA, and the Village has the authority and the practical ability to measure compliance at any time and take enforcement action if the standard is not met. The project meets that standard through low-noise equipment selection, multiple layers of physical sound attenuation (acoustic enclosures, sound walls, berms, landscaping, building orientation), site-specific design, and the Village’s enforcement authority backs up day-to-day. Other industrial uses would be louder with manufacturing assembly and fabrication processes, sandblasting, stamping presses, grinders, metal saws, a much higher volume of truck deliveries, “beeping” forklifts, dock door rolling, pressure relief valves / steam vents, and other noise issues. |
Q: Will there be 24/7 cooling systems in operation?
Yes. A data center is a continuously-operating facility, and its cooling systems run continuously alongside the IT equipment they serve. Servers need to be kept within a precise temperature range to operate reliably.
The more important point and what residents should want to understand is whether 24/7 operation means constant maximum noise and energy output. It does not. The Perry Technology Park’s cooling system is purpose-designed to operate efficiently and quietly across the full range of conditions that Northern Ohio actually experiences, and the Champion Farm site was specifically selected in part because Northern Ohio’s cool-to-cold climate allows the cooling system to operate at much lower intensity for the majority of the year.
Why the climate matters: site selection for cooling efficiency.
Lake County’s cool-to-cold climate is a meaningful site-selection advantage for a project of this type. With cold winters, comparatively moderate summers, and Lake Erie’s moderating effect on temperatures year-round, the climate allows the data center’s cooling system to run in a low-energy, low-noise “free cooling” mode for a substantial portion of the year. In free-cooling mode, the system uses cool outdoor air to handle the cooling needs directly, allowing the mechanical cooling components to operate at significantly reduced output — or to cycle off entirely. The result is dramatically less energy use and noticeably less mechanical noise during the cooler months, which in Northern Ohio is most of the year.
This is not a minor design feature; it is one of the reasons this specific site was chosen. The same campus operating in a hotter climate would require its mechanical cooling systems to run harder for more hours of the year. In Lake County, that burden is dramatically reduced for many months out of every year by the local weather itself.
How the cooling system is designed to operate quietly.
In addition to the climate advantage, the project’s cooling system is designed with noise and efficiency as primary considerations:
Closed-loop design. The cooling system circulates coolant through the campus in a closed loop rather than relying on older open systems, a choice that supports both efficiency and lower noise levels.
Variable-speed fans and drives. Cooling fans and pumps run only as fast as actually required with ramp up only on the hottest hours of the hottest days and ramping down, often substantially, at all other times. Variable-speed operation is an effective tool for reducing data center noise.
Equipment selected for low-noise data center applications. The mechanical equipment specified for the project is drawn from product lines specifically engineered for low-noise data center use, including quietly-rated systems with sound-dampening and acoustic optimization.
Multiple modular units rather than a few large ones. Modern data center designs use multiple smaller cooling units that are staged on and off based on demand, which is both more efficient and quieter than running a smaller number of large units at high capacity.
Tied to an enforceable Village standard.
Importantly, the cooling system’s noise output, like all noise from the project, is limited by Perry Village’s stringent 65 dBA property-line noise standard, 24 hours a day. Perry Village retains the authority and the practical ability to measure compliance at any time. The same enforceable noise framework applies whether the cooling system is in low-output free-cooling mode in February or running during a hot afternoon in August.
| Key Takeaway: Cooling will run continuously, but not at maximum intensity continuously. The Champion Farm site was specifically selected in part because Northern Ohio’s cool-to-cold climate allows the cooling system to operate in low-energy, low-noise “free cooling” mode for much of the year. Combined with closed-loop design, variable-speed equipment, equipment selected specifically for low-noise data center applications, modular operation, and Perry Village’s enforceable 65 dBA property-line standard backed by independent measurement and enforcement authority, the cooling system is designed and required to operate well within community noise limits at all times. |
Q: Will backup generators be used, and if so, how frequently are they expected to be tested?
Yes. Like every hospital, emergency services facility, and mission-critical data center in the country, the Perry Technology Park will include backup generators. They serve the same role here as they do in those settings: a safety net to keep critical equipment running during the rare occasion when grid power is unavailable. They are not a power source; they do not provide routine electricity, and they are not designed to operate on an ongoing basis.
The project’s backup generators are expected to run in only two circumstances:
Emergency grid outages. This means power interruptions caused by storms, equipment failures, or other events affecting the FirstEnergy transmission system. The Champion Farm site was specifically selected because FirstEnergy has two separate transmission circuits running through and adjacent to the property — meaning that even if one circuit experiences an issue, the second can carry the load, dramatically reducing the likelihood of a sustained outage. Combined with FirstEnergy’s recent grid investments — more than $400 million in automated equipment and technology upgrades in Ohio since 2020, and a $26 billion commitment under its Energize365 plan — the data center is projected to draw power from the grid well in excess of 99% of all hours in any given year. In practical terms, the generators are expected to sit idle the overwhelming majority of the time.
FirstEnergy’s reliability record further supports this approach. Utilities are evaluated using a metric called the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), which measures the average total minutes per year that a customer experiences a power outage. A lower SAIDI score means fewer and shorter outages and FirstEnergy has a strong reliability performance for the region.
FirstEnergy, the grid operator (PJM), the Department of Energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) all actively prioritize grid reliability through planning, interconnection modeling, technology improvements, and infrastructure upgrades. Taken together, the dual-circuit supply and FirstEnergy’s ongoing investments mean that the data center is expected to draw power from the grid well in excess of 99% of all hours in any given year.
Scheduled testing. Industry standards require backup generators at mission-critical facilities to be tested periodically to confirm they will function when actually needed. For this project, that testing is expected to consist of brief monthly tests, typically about 30 minutes maximum per generator per month. Included in the Perry Village zoning standards is a requirement that emergency generator testing may only occur Monday through Friday between 8 am and 6 pm with no testing allowed during weekends.
These testing and operating hours are not left to operator discretion — they are subject to enforceable legal limits. Before any generator can be installed or operated, the project must obtain approval from Ohio EPA and the generators are also subject to the federal Clean Air Act regulations. Together, these establish strict caps on annual non-emergency operating hours, mandatory recordkeeping and reporting, and a detailed pre-installation technical review by Ohio EPA confirming that emissions will not create an air quality concern for the surrounding area. Ohio EPA retains direct, ongoing enforcement authority including the ability to issue compliance orders and assess civil penalties if those limits are ever exceeded.
The combined effect of these design and regulatory choices — infrequent actual operation, brief and pre-scheduled testing, clean technology, and an enforceable Ohio EPA permitting and oversight framework — is why backup generators at modern data centers are in practice a quiet and tightly controlled feature rather than a recurring community concern.
| Key Takeaway: Backup generators are a safety net, not a power source as the Perry Technology Park will draw its power from the grid. They are expected to run rarely given FirstEnergy’s reliable, dual-circuit power supply, and routine testing is brief and pre-scheduled during daytime hours to minimize impact on neighbors. State and federal regulators impose enforceable limits on operating hours. |
Q: Have any independent (third-party) acoustic studies been completed or commissioned?
Noise management is a top priority for the Perry Technology Park, and the most important thing for residents to understand about noise is this: the project is required to meet Perry Village’s stringent 65 dBA property-line noise standard (about equivalent to normal conversation levels), 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and the Village has independent authority to enforce that standard. That requirement is binding on the project regardless of where it sits in its design or operation stage.
To address the specific question directly: a formal third-party acoustic study has not yet been commissioned at this stage of the project’s development. As the project’s engineering and design work progresses, however, a site-specific acoustic study by qualified third-party acoustical engineers will be undertaken, and the project will also commission independent post-construction verification testing to confirm that the as-built facility actually meets the Village’s noise standard in operation.
The project must meet a stringent, enforceable noise standard.
Perry Village has adopted a 65 dBA property-line noise standard, and that standard applies every hour of every day including at 3 a.m. on a Sunday in February and at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday in August. The standard does not relax during overnight hours, weekends, or holidays, and it does not change based on weather, season, or operations. The Perry Technology Park is required to operate within that limit at all times, period.
Multiple layers of noise control will be engineered into the design.
The project’s noise management approach will combine equipment selection, sound attenuation measures, and site planning, all engineered to achieve the Village’s stringent standard:
Equipment selection. Modern, low-noise mechanical equipment specifically engineered for low-noise data center applications including variable speed cooling fans, quietly rated heat-rejection equipment, and sound-dampened generator enclosures with critical-grade exhaust silencers.
Sound attenuation measures. Acoustic enclosures around mechanical equipment, acoustic louvers, sound attenuation blankets, sound-rated mechanical-room construction, back-up generator enclosures and setbacks, earthen berms, and dense landscape buffering.
Site planning and design. Setbacks, building placement, and equipment orientation chosen to maximize distance attenuation between noise sources and the nearest residential receptors. The setback requirements combined with the required 6-8 foot tall earthen berms and landscaping buffer the project from the property lines. Further, the setbacks, earthen berms and landscaping are required to be enhanced at sensitive edge conditions and the earthen berm with landscaping is shown below:
These are not aspirational features. They are the specific mechanisms by which the project will meet the Village’s noise standard, and they will be incorporated into the project’s design and confirmed by the acoustic analysis described below.
An acoustic study will be undertaken as design progresses.
As the project’s engineering and design work progresses, the project will engage qualified third-party acoustical engineers to conduct a site-specific acoustic study using Perry-specific data including actual equipment sound specifications, the specific sound attenuation measures selected for the project, the project’s actual building placement and orientation, the project’s actual setbacks, and the earthen berms, sound walls, and landscape buffering incorporated into the design. The study will model predicted sound levels at the property line across operating conditions. Its results will guide final design decisions and will form the basis for the noise levels the project is required to meet in operation.
The project will commission independent post-construction verification testing.
Beyond design-phase modeling, the project will commission independent post-construction verification testing by qualified acoustical engineers to confirm that the as-built facility actually meets Perry Village’s 65 dBA property-line standard in operation. The verification testing measures real-world operating sound levels at the property line under operating conditions, and compares those measurements against the Village’s enforceable standard. Results will be made available to Perry Village, and any exceedances identified during verification testing will be addressed at the project’s expense before normal operation continues. Verification testing is the project’s affirmative commitment to prove (not just predict) that the standard is being met.
The Village has independent enforcement authority.
Most importantly, the community’s protection does not depend on the project’s voluntary commitments. Throughout the operating life of the project, Perry Village retains the legal authority and the practical ability to measure noise compliance at any time using calibrated sound-level equipment. If a measurement ever indicated that the project was operating outside the 65 dBA limit, the Village has the authority to issue a notice of violation, compel corrective action, seek injunctive relief in court, and assess civil penalties. Further, the project would be required to address the issue at its own expense. The Village’s enforcement authority is independent of the developer, and it is the primary mechanism by which residents are protected over the long term.
| Key Takeaway: The Perry Technology Park is required to meet Perry Village’s stringent 65 dBA property-line noise standard, 24 hours a day, and the Village has independent authority to enforce that standard. While a formal third-party acoustic study has not yet been commissioned at this stage of the project’s development, a site-specific study by qualified acoustical engineers will be undertaken as design progresses, and independent post-construction verification testing will be conducted to confirm that the as-built facility meets the standard in operation. If non-compliance is ever measured, the Village has the authority to issue notices of violation, compel corrective action, seek injunctive relief, and assess civil penalties. |
Q: I have recently come across the concept of “infrasound” related to large-scale mechanical operations. Are you familiar with this, and could you share educational materials or studies addressing whether it is a consideration with facilities like this?
Infrasound, sound below approximately 20 Hz, is generally inaudible to humans and has been the subject of active peer-reviewed scientific research for more than a decade, primarily in connection with the wind energy industry. When that literature is read carefully, the conclusion is consistent: the kind of environmental infrasound produced by large industrial facilities does not cause the health effects sometimes attributed to it.
What the peer-reviewed evidence actually shows.
The best-designed controlled studies which are those structured to actually test the hypothesis under double-blind conditions find no evidence of harm:
Marshall et al. (2023), Environmental Health Perspectives. A double-blind randomized crossover study that exposed noise-sensitive adults to 72 hours of simulated wind-turbine infrasound. Results evaluating sleep quality, working memory, drowsiness, cardiovascular markers, headaches, nausea, and other endpoints showed no negative effects.
Weichenberger et al. (2017), PLOS ONE. A randomized controlled trial that installed infrasonic devices in participants’ bedrooms for 28 nights. The study concluded that infrasound at environmental levels does not affect healthy individuals.
Chapman et al. (2014), Frontiers in Public Health. A peer-reviewed analysis showing that health-complaint rates in communities with operating wind facilities correlate with the level of public discussion and media coverage, not with measured infrasound levels.
These findings have been reviewed independently by multiple national public health authorities, including the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Health Canada (whose underlying field study examined 1,238 households in communities with operating wind turbines), the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Each reviewed the literature on its own and reached the same conclusion: there is no convincing evidence of a distinct health problem caused by environmental infrasound from these facilities.
How this applies specifically to the Perry Technology Park.
The project’s design relies on modern, low-noise mechanical equipment specifically engineered for low-noise data center applications including variable-speed, low sound systems that produce less mechanical energy across the frequency spectrum than older constant-speed equipment. The use of low-noise equipment is designed to ensure that any low-frequency components produced by the project remain well below the levels at which laboratory studies have demonstrated any physiological effects.
Educational materials.
For residents who want to read the underlying science directly, we recommend starting with the three studies named above (all publicly available through their respective journals) and the published reviews issued by the Australian NHMRC, Health Canada, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Netherlands’ RIVM. These are independent, non-industry sources and represent the most authoritative reviews of this topic to date.
A note about other materials residents may encounter online. There is also a body of videos, blog posts, and consultant reports — typically published by individuals or groups opposed to data center development — that present themselves as evidence of infrasound harm. These materials are not in the same category as the peer-reviewed studies and national health authority reviews referenced above. They have not been peer-reviewed, do not use double-blind or controlled study designs, and have not been independently endorsed by any national health authority. We would encourage anyone weighing claims about infrasound to ask basic questions of each source: Has this work been peer-reviewed? Was the study prepared by a biased group intent on limiting data center development? Was the study designed with proper controls? And has it been independently reviewed by a national or comparable health authority? The studies and reviews cited above satisfy all three; the alarming material circulating online does not.
| Key Takeaway: The peer-reviewed record including independent reviews by multiple national health authorities does not support the conclusion that environmental infrasound causes harm to nearby residents. The use of modern, low-noise equipment selection including variable-speed, low sound systems engineered for low-noise data center applications is designed to ensure that any low-frequency components produced by the project remain well below the levels at which physiological effects have been demonstrated in any controlled study. |
Water System — Closed-Loop Details
Q: Regarding the closed-loop cooling system: How is it replenished, and how often? Does it require flushing? If so, how frequently? Where does that water go, and what substances does it contain?
It sounds like you are concerned about the environment with this question and the answer is that a closed-loop cooling system design is far more protective of the environment than conventional cooling approaches. No cooling-system fluid from Perry Technology Park will ever be discharged onto the project property, into the ground, into the sanitary sewer system, into the storm drain system, or into Lake Erie.
How the closed loop works and how it is replenished.
In a closed-loop cooling system, a fixed volume of water (or water-glycol mixture) circulates continuously through sealed pipes. The fluid absorbs heat from the servers and transfers it to the outside air through heat exchangers without the fluid itself being exposed to or evaporated into the atmosphere. Because the loop is sealed, the fluid is not consumed during normal operation. When system top-off is needed (only periodically, not daily) the system draws from the building’s public water supply connection, consistent with the project’s 273,000 gallon-per-day maximum allocation for all water uses across the entire facility.
What is in the loop, and how it stays there.
The cooling fluid contains low-concentration additives that are essential to protect the equipment and the system over time:
- Corrosion inhibitors (typically phosphates, molybdates, or azoles) that protect metal piping
- Biocides used to prevent Legionella and other biological growth
- pH adjustment compounds to maintain water chemistry within the range that protects equipment
These additives are present at low concentrations, are standard in modern industrial cooling systems, not just at data centers and, most importantly, remain contained within the sealed closed loop at all times during normal operation. They are not released into the air, the ground, the property, the sewer system, or any surface water. Discharges into the storm water system or onto the property would violate federal and state environmental laws and are strictly prohibited.
Does the system require flushing, and where does that fluid go?
Yes — like any industrial water system, the closed loop is subject to periodic maintenance that may include flushing to remove accumulated mineral deposits, biological growth, or corrosion products. This is not a frequent event; it typically occurs on a multi-year maintenance cycle.
When flushing does occur, the spent cooling fluid is treated as regulated industrial process wastewater and is disposed of the same way any responsible industrial operator handles regulated waste: it is collected on-site, transferred to a licensed industrial waste hauler, and transported off-site to a permitted treatment and disposal facility. To be clear:
The fluid is not discharged onto the project property.
The fluid is not discharged into the ground or into any soil, well, or pond on the property.
The fluid is not discharged into the sanitary sewer system.
The fluid is not discharged into the storm drain system.
The fluid is not discharged into Lake Erie or any other body of water, surface or subsurface.
This off-site hauling pathway is the same chain-of-custody system every other regulated industrial generator in Ohio uses, and each removal is documented, manifested where required, and reportable to environmental regulators.
Regulatory and operational oversight.
This entire process operates under multiple layers of oversight. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has jurisdiction over industrial wastewater handling, the licensing of waste haulers, and the permitting of receiving treatment and disposal facilities. Federal regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act framework also apply to the management of regulated industrial waste. Also, please keep in mind that data centers contain millions and millions of dollars of sensitive computer equipment, so the operator has a significant vested interest in assuring proper maintenance and monitoring of all building systems 24/7/365 by highly qualified system technicians. The community is protected by a layered, well-established regulatory framework that has governed industrial projects in Ohio for decades and the project will operate within that framework like any other user.
| Key Takeaway: The closed-loop cooling system is sealed. When periodic maintenance flushing does occur — typically on a multi-year cycle — the spent cooling fluid is collected on-site and hauled off-site by a licensed hauler for treatment and disposal at a permitted facility. The fluid is never discharged onto the property, into the ground, into the sanitary sewer system, into the storm drain system, or into Lake Erie. It is responsibly handled like any other regulated waste, under Ohio EPA oversight. |
Facility Longevity & Decommissioning
Q: If the facility were to become obsolete in 10–15 years: Who would be responsible for cleanup or demolition? Would there be a decommissioning bond or escrow in place?
This same question could be asked of any industrial, manufacturing or commercial development that occurs on any site. A data center project is actually more resilient to change as the structures themselves are very robust and the computer and server equipment within them gets upgraded over time as technology evolves.
First, some important context on data center longevity.
Modern data center buildings are engineered structures with useful lives of 50 years or more — comparable to commercial warehouses, industrial facilities, and large office complexes. They are not transient uses. The capital required to build a data center campus is measured in billions of dollars, financed by long-horizon institutional capital, and underwritten on the assumption of multi-decade operation. Developers and tenants do not walk away from that scale of investment on a 10-to-15-year horizon, and the lenders, infrastructure funds, and ratings agencies backing them would not support a project that did.
The market context reinforces the point. Demand for data center capacity is at historic highs and continues to accelerate, driven by cloud computing, enterprise digitization, and the sustained build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Vacancy rates in major U.S. data center markets are at or near record lows meaning that demand is at record levels for data center facilities. The Perry Technology Park will have power, fiber and be located in the Cleveland MSA making it a long-term strategic asset rather than a speculative bet. Major operators routinely sign 15-to-20-year lease commitments (and sometimes longer) and reinvest continually to upgrade and extend facility life. Tenants do not abandon power-secured, fiber-connected sites.
The building itself is also adaptable. In the highly unlikely event that a campus were ever vacated by its original tenants, the shell, electrical infrastructure, cooling systems, and fiber connectivity are precisely the assets that other data center operators, cloud providers, and technology users would compete to acquire. Replicating those features from scratch on a new site can take five to seven years and hundreds of millions of dollars; taking over an existing one takes months and costs far less because of the capital previously invested. Data center buildings do not become derelict eyesores — they are valuable real estate that the market reabsorbs.
Who is responsible for the property.
Legal and financial responsibility for the property including any future decommissioning, cleanup, or demolition rests with the property owner, as it does with any other commercial facility in Ohio. Abandonment without cleanup is not actually an option under the law: it would expose the owner to substantial liability under Ohio environmental statutes, applicable property and nuisance law and local action by the Village. The legal regime is specifically designed to ensure the owner remains accountable and that violations do not occur in the first place.
| Key Takeaway: Data center buildings have useful lives of 50+ years and represent billion-dollar capital investments so they are not abandoned on 10–15 year timescales. Plus a power-secured, fiber-connected site like this is the kind of asset that the market competes for, not walks away from. Legal responsibility for the property rests with the owner, and the Village of Perry, the State of Ohio, and the federal government all have direct, independent enforcement authority. |
Community Education
Q: Would you be able to provide an example of a comparable facility that I could visit to better understand the real-world impact on a community?
Absolutely — and we think this is one of the best ways for residents to form their own informed judgment. Seeing and hearing a comparable facility in operation is far more useful than any description or study we could provide.
Ohio’s clearest analogs are in the Columbus metro area, particularly the New Albany and Dublin corridors, which have seen significant data center development over the past decade. Several Perry Village Council members have already visited these campuses firsthand, met with New Albany officials to hear the City’s perspective on the use, and spoken with neighboring residents about their day-to-day experience.
We would strongly encourage you to do the same. The Beech Road / Smith’s Mill area in New Albany is a good starting point — you can drive past several operating campuses and get a real sense of scale, screening, lighting, and ambient sound. When you’re there, we’d suggest paying particular attention to: noise at the property line and at the nearest homes, nighttime lighting, earthen berms, landscaping, and setbacks.
| Key Takeaway: Perry residents are encouraged to visit New Albany or Dublin, OH to see (and hear) an operating data center project for themselves so you obtain a real-world analog to what is proposed and so the conversation is grounded in direct experience rather than speculation. |
The Purchase Agreement
Q: Will the developer walk away from the project assuming reimbursement of expenses incurred if requested to do so?
As the responses to the questions above demonstrate, the Perry Technology Park is committed to responsible development with protections in place for the community. This is a significant economic development project that has committed to providing direct community benefits starting at the property closing and continuing for years. In addition to the purchase price of over $8 million dollars to the Village, the developer will pay over $2.7 million for community benefits at the closing, including for:
- Two refurbished Perry Fire District ambulances and life safety equipment ($500,000)
- Park improvements at Lydic Park ($275,000)
- Village beautification projects ($350,000)
- Township park improvements ($250,000)
- A new police cruiser ($75,000)
- Completion of the POW/MIA memorial ($40,000)
- Community groups including Perry Center, Theater Guild, Band Boosters, etc. ($324,000)
The project would deliver nearly $380 million in total revenues over its first 31 years – funding that would go to the Perry schools, fire protection, parks and residents. Perry Village residents would receive free trash collection for 15 years, free senior center memberships and free youth sports vouchers. These are significant benefits that will lower resident costs, diversify the tax base and help to avoid new property tax or income tax levies.
Because this project will deliver the most significant new public revenue in Perry Village for a long, long time – $155 million for Perry schools, $40 million for fire protection, and immediate investments in parks, safety, and residents’ daily lives making a positive long-term impact on the local community, we don’t expect to be asked to walk away from the purchase agreement.
| Our Commitment to Perry Village
The actual protection for Perry residents comes from the strict standards that the Village has put in place and well as Ohio’s regulatory process: Ohio EPA’s air quality and wastewater permitting; Lake County’s water and waste-water allocation framework; FirstEnergy’s grid reliability and interconnection review; and the specific, enforceable commitments this project has made and will make throughout the permitting and development process. For more information, visit www.PerryTechnologyPark.com. |