AWS Wilmington Ohio data center, Wilmington, Ohio

Amazon has proposed a $4 billion data center, known as Cosler Farm, on a 471 acre site on the south side of Wilmington in Clinton County, Ohio. The plan calls for nine buildings totaling about 1.9 million square feet, and Amazon has promised the city $25 million in infrastructure upgrades, including a 1 million gallon water tower, plus 100 permanent jobs with an $8 million annual payroll. Homeowners near the site sued the city, alleging improper rezoning and a lack of public notice; the case later moved to federal court.

On August 20, 2026, a federal judge's order forced Wilmington City Council to follow Ohio's open meetings law and give residents proper notice, leading to a special meeting on three data center ordinances. Council passed a generator noise ordinance 6 to 1 with emergency language, but a rezoning ordinance failed because it needed 75 percent approval, and council tabled it until September 3. “The silence was deafening on the council's part. They had an opportunity to ask us questions. They did not,” resident Brenda Shobe said.

On September 3, 2026, council passed the rezoning with an emergency clause, which under Ohio law takes effect at once and blocks a referendum. Rachel Mary Brooks, whose home is near the site, sued in Clinton County Common Pleas Court to block it: “I asked the city's representatives if there was any actual harm in waiting the normal 30 days. They could not provide an answer.” The city agreed at a hearing not to act on the rezoning for a week and not to interfere with residents gathering signatures.

Separately, residents Quintin Koger Kidd and Susan Croutwater had filed a citizen petition in July 2026 for a ballot measure setting limits on data center noise, lighting, emissions, water use and heat, and letting residents sue operators directly for violations. The Clinton County Board of Elections voted not to certify the petition, and on September 18, 2026 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 5-1 that the measure could not appear on the November 3 ballot because it improperly let residents sue directly, a power cities do not have.