It’s August in Ohio, and the heat is putting real strain on our power grid. PJM, the regional transmission operator that manages electricity for Ohio and 13 other states, has already issued warnings: energy demand is outpacing supply. Generating more power isn’t just an opportunity—it’s a necessity. Energy reserve margins are shrinking compared to last year, and studies suggest they’ll continue to decline.

Despite slightly lower average summer temperatures than last year, Americans will still pay over 6% more to cool and power their homes. State efforts to stabilize energy prices help, but most consumers will still feel the pinch.

Central Ohio’s electricity demand tells the story clearly. In 2018, demand from homes and industry peaked at 4,400 megawatts. By 2028, the demand could more than double—to 10,000 megawatts. That matches what New York City and its suburbs consume today.

What’s behind this surge? Yes, more households are using energy for streaming, gaming, and mobile devices. And yes, hotter days are pushing air conditioners to the limit. But the biggest new driver of electricity use in Ohio is the rise of data centers.

These massive facilities are servers, storage drives, and routers—the physical backbone of the cloud, the virtual network where data is stored, processed, and accessed instead of on a local device. Ohio now ranks fourth in the U.S. for data center volume, with most of them concentrated in Central Ohio.

That’s a promising sign for tech-sector growth, job creation, and tax revenue, but it comes at a cost. Data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity, both to power their equipment and to keep it cool.

At the same time, traditional coal plants are being phased out, shrinking our overall generation capacity. When demand goes up while supply tightens, costs rise—and those costs get passed to households and businesses.

The new challenge isn’t about choosing between renewables and traditional energy. It’s about building both. To keep Ohio running—and growing—we need to expand our energy capacity across the board. That includes smart, large-scale solar.

Solar is already one of the most cost-effective energy sources in the U.S., with prices dropping steadily over the last decade. Utility-scale solar is especially efficient. It’s also the fastest form of new energy generation to bring online—often completed in a fraction of the time it takes to build traditional power plants—making it a crucial tool for meeting Ohio’s near-term energy demands.

When built locally, solar strengthens our communities. More solar means lower long-term electricity costs, more funding for schools and public services, and greater energy independence.

Right now, Crawford County has a chance to lead. Supporting utility-scale solar here will help meet Ohio’s growing energy needs with American-made power. Data centers will keep expanding. Our energy supply must grow with them—so our homes, businesses, and future don’t get left behind.

No matter how technology evolves, one thing remains true: the sun doesn’t send a bill. Let’s put it to work for Ohio.