Data Center Signal Monitoring Playbook

Phase 4 deliverable | July 2026

A recurring intelligence collection system for detecting planned data center sites in central Ohio before public announcement.

Monitoring Cadence

1. PUCO Docket Monitoring

Primary portal

• PUCO Docketing Information System: https://dis.puc.state.oh.us/
• Advanced search: https://dis.puc.state.oh.us/AdvancedSearch.aspx

Key cases to watch

Search procedure (weekly)

1. Go to PUCO DIS → Search Documents
2. Keywords: data center, AEP Ohio, load study, interconnection, large load
3. Filter: Last 30 days
4. Review applicant names: Amazon Data Services, Sidecat LLC, Vantage, EdgeConneX, Aligned, Microsoft, Google affiliates (Magellan, Montauk, Table Mountain)
5. Log any new filings in tracking spreadsheet

AEP-specific

• Data Center Tariff page: https://www.aepohio.com/company/about/rates/data-center-tariff/
• PowerClerk applications: New data center service requests filed here (not always public immediately — FOIA/records request if needed)

2. Planning Portal Watch List

Check each portal weekly for keywords listed in Section 6.

Franklin County

Delaware County

Licking County

Union County

Adjacent expansion counties

What to extract from each portal

• Active rezoning applications
• Conditional use permits (CUP)
• Planned Unit Development (PUD) filings
• Annexation petitions
• Site plan reviews
• Meeting agendas (planning commission, city council)

3. Ohio EPA Permit Search

Portal

• Ohio EPA eBusiness Center: https://ebiz.epa.ohio.gov/
• Air permit search: https://epa.ohio.gov/divisions-and-offices/air-pollution-control/permitting

What to search for

• Title V permits for stationary engines / gas turbines
• Permit-to-install for backup generators (often 50+ diesel units = data center signal)
• Natural gas-fired power plant applications (BYOP signal)
• Applicant names matching known developers or opaque LLCs

High-value signals

• Multiple generator permits at single address
• Gas-fired power plant near agricultural parcel
• Bloom Energy fuel cell installations (AWS pattern in Hilliard)

4. Property Records Monitoring

County auditors (monthly large-transaction review)

Red flags in property records

• Purchase >100 acres by LLC with no prior local presence
• Names containing: Data, Cloud, Technology, Holdings, Propco, Campus, Project [codename]
• Option agreements on agricultural land near transmission lines
• EdgeConneX pattern: $100M+ single transactions

Ohio Secretary of State

• Business search: https://www.ohiosos.gov/businesses/business-search/
• Cross-reference LLC officers with known developer principals

5. News and Alert Setup

Google Alerts (create at https://www.google.com/alerts)

News outlets to monitor

• WOSU Politics/Government
• Columbus Dispatch Business
• Signal Ohio
• 614NOW
• Columbus Business First
• Newark Advocate (Licking County)

6. Search Keywords for Planning Portals

Use these in portal search boxes and meeting packet PDFs:

Primary: data center, datacenter, hyperscale, colocation, cloud infrastructure

Euphemisms: technology campus, industrial park, secure facility, mission critical, powered shell, large load customer, telecommunications facility, server farm

Process terms: rezoning, conditional use, special use permit, PUD, annexation, site plan, development agreement, tax increment financing (TIF)

Infrastructure: substation, transmission line, natural gas power plant, backup generator, fuel cell, Bloom Energy

Developer names: Amazon Data Services, Sidecat, Vantage, EdgeConneX, PowerConneX, Cologix, Aligned, QTS, 5C Data Centers, Compass, Stream Data Centers, Oppidan, VanTrust

7. Commercial Databases

Recommendation: Check datacenter.fyi Ohio page monthly for new "Proposed" entries.

8. Public Records Request Templates

When planning portals lack detail, submit Ohio Public Records Act requests (ORC 149.43):

To planning department

I request all records related to [parcel address / application number / project name], including:
- Complete zoning case file, staff reports, and conditions of approval
- All correspondence between applicant and agency
- Traffic, noise, stormwater, and environmental studies
- Site plans and architectural drawings
- Meeting minutes and public comment submissions

To economic development authority

I request all records related to data center development negotiations in [jurisdiction] since [date], including:
- Project codename filings and non-disclosure agreements (redacted as permitted)
- Job Creation Tax Credit applications
- Enterprise zone or TIF agreements
- Correspondence with Amazon, Google, Meta, or their representatives

To AEP Ohio (via PUCO if denied)

I request all load study applications and interconnection requests for loads exceeding 25 MW in [county] since [date].

9. Tracking Spreadsheet Columns

Maintain a running log with these fields:

10. Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB)

For on-site generation >50 MW:

• OPSB case search: https://opsb.ohio.gov/cases/
• Watch for: natural gas peaker plants, combined cycle units near data center parcels
• Confirmed: Case 25-90-EL-BLN (PowerConneX New Albany, 140 MW)

Closing facility gaps (primary-source verification)

Aggregators like Baxtel are useful for discovering facilities we may be missing, but their terms forbid scraping/republishing and our map is a competing product — so treat any aggregator strictly as a lead, never as a citation, and never copy their data or map. The workflow:

1. Lead — note a facility we lack (name, operator, place) in archive/facility-candidates.csv with lead_source (e.g. baxtel, news).
2. Verify against a primary, reusable source — confirm it independently via one of: the operator's own press release / site, a PUCO docket, OPSB filing, county auditor/recorder records, an Ohio EPA permit, or local-government meeting minutes. Record that URL as verified_source and set verification_status=verified.
3. Promote — only verified rows get added to data/facilities.geo.csv (with coordinates). Then ./deploy-map.sh picks them up everywhere (map, table, Key Facts, timeline) via regen-map.mjs.

This keeps the dataset independently sourced and citable, and avoids reusing any aggregator's proprietary content.

Quick-Start Checklist

• Create 8 Google Alerts (Section 5)
• Bookmark all planning portals (Section 2)
• Bookmark PUCO DIS and Ohio EPA eBusiness Center
• Set weekly calendar reminder: planning portal scan
• Set monthly calendar reminder: auditor large-transaction review
• Create tracking spreadsheet (Section 9)
• Baseline inventory loaded from data/facilities.geo.csv (canonical — see 02-DEPRECATED.md)
• Review 03-Site-Scoring-Rubric.md jurisdiction tiers