Dive Brief:

• Amazon will invest about $7.8 billion by the end of 2029 to expand its data center operations in central Ohio, according to a company press release.
• The project consists of computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other forms of technology infrastructure used in power cloud computing, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
• Amazon’s commitment represents the second largest single private sector company investment in Ohio’s history. That ranks only behind Intel’s $20 billion investment in January 2022 to build its semiconductor facility.

Dive Insight:

Data center construction continues to surge in the U.S., especially in booming hubs like the central Ohio region.

For example, Google recently announced two new data center facilities in Columbus and Lancaster, Ohio. Those planned projects bring the tech conglomerate’s total investment in Ohio to more than $2 billion, according to Google. 

The central Ohio region continues to attract data center operations due to its ample land and water supply, low natural disaster risk and aggressive tax incentives, according to a CBRE report on data center markets. Additionally, the market sits in a geographically strategic position in between developed data center hubs such as Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Chicago.

Amazon’s investment in central Ohio will generate about 230 direct jobs and support about 1,000 additional jobs at local businesses through the construction, operations and maintenance at the facility, according to Amazon. DeWine said numerous localities in the area are under consideration for the new data center campuses, but official site selections and contractors will be decided at a later date.

“Amazon is already one of the largest private-sector employers in Ohio, and the company’s continued growth here further cements Ohio as the heart of our nation’s technology and innovation,” said DeWine. “As more of the world relies on cloud computing, this investment will build on Amazon’s current infrastructure in Ohio.”

Amazon continues its data center expansion

Amazon also filed plans to build more data center facilities in the established Virginia hub, along with its $7.8 billion investment in Ohio. 

The tech giant filed plans in Sterling, Virginia, to demolish nine office buildings across three sites to make way for four data center buildings, according to land applications in Loudoun County, Virginia. The project forms part of its overall plan to invest an additional $35 billion to establish multiple data center campuses in Virginia by 2040, according to the company.

The Amazon Web Services Cloud has several data centers across seven geographic regions in North America, according to the company.