AWS Data Center, Madison Township, Ohio

AWS Data Center, an Amazon Web Services data center proposed for Madison Township, in Butler County, Ohio, just south of Trenton, was stalled when the City of Trenton withdrew its petition to annex about 600 acres of the land on September 14, 2026. The city's attorney said it reserves the right to refile after the November 3 election, when Trenton voters will decide whether to ban data centers above a 25-megawatt threshold in the city.

Amazon is planning 18 buildings of about 220,000 square feet each on 601 acres along Wayne Madison Road and Hawkins Road, near a Duke Energy substation and gas-fired power plant, in Madison and St. Clair townships. Both townships turned down the annexation in August 2026; Madison Township trustees voted 3-0, and board president Jeff Willoughby said the petition would create an island of township land and contained errors in its legal description.

"If you walk out your front door, what are you going to see? Are you going to see concrete? Are you going to see trees? Are you going to see a fence?" Willoughby said, citing residents' worries about noise, stormwater and the view. Amazon had offered each township $5 million.

Butler County enacted a six-month moratorium on data centers in June 2026 covering Madison Township, set to expire in December, and St. Clair Township adopted its own 12-month moratorium in May. If Trenton voters pass the November ban, Amazon could still try to build through the townships instead of annexation, and Amazon Web Services did not respond to questions about whether it will continue pursuing the site.