{"id":204746,"date":"2026-04-09T21:58:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=204746"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:58:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:58:44","slug":"stevens-shares-data-center-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/04\/09\/stevens-shares-data-center-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Stevens shares data center benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a hot topic as of late and more information about it was shared Thursday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert Area Economic Development Director Brent Stevens was the keynote speaker at Vantage Career Center\u2019s All-Boards Dinner and Alumni Hall of Fame night on Thursday and he spoke about the planned $10 billion data center at the Mega Site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that during negotiations, the developer agreed to pay for Bonnewitz Crossing, which will connect N. Washington St. and Mendon Rd., plus improvements to Mendon Rd., including an overpass. The extension and improvements alone are estimated at approximately $25 million.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Brent Stevens talks about what a data center could mean for the area. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As he has done on previous occasions, Stevens noted the data center will use a closed loop cooling system, which will eliminate the need for massive amounts of water, which has been a fear of local opponents of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just so happens that the parts that are being built for the closed loop system are being built by Danfoss right here in town,\u201d Stevens stated. \u201cUnlike many facilities that have drawn criticism for high water consumption, this design recycles and reuses all of its cooling liquid on-site.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said Danfoss in Van Wert is expected to add 53 new jobs to keep up with demand for sustainable equipment in the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not importing a problem, we are showcasing a homegrown solution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stevens, a well-planned data center project does not raise residential or business electric rates. Instead, he said, these developments help fund grid upgrades that northwest Ohio needs for the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens also addressed fears about emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn this project there are no emissions, no groundwater items run into the ground, and no ongoing air emissions from the facility itself,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only exception, according to Stevens, is the backup generators, that will be tested once a month for an hour as required by regulation. He added daily truck traffic on nearby U.S. 30 generates more CO2 than the data center generators ever will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Mega Site was established in 2007, the original vision was to attract a large automobile manufacturing plant, an operation that would have brought thousands of workers to the site, which would have generated daily heavy traffic, wear on local roads and noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy contrast, this modern data center will operate with between 200-250 people, a highly skilled on-site workforce and limited daily traffic,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cThe result is far less disruptive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens added that these types of AI-driven infrastructure projects need the kind of talent that Vantage Career Center produces. He also said that the end user has expressed interest in working with Vantage to develop a customized curriculum to help prepare students for employment at the facility and other data centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArtificial intelligence is not coming \u2013 it\u2019s already here and is fundamentally changing what employers value,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he wrapped up his speech, Stevens noted that Hampton Inn plans to build directly behind First Federal on Bonnewitz and he said the data center is expected to spur an economic boom, including possible big box stores, apartments or additional resturants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also encouraged residents to attend Van Wert City Council\u2019s May 4 public comment session at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Supporters and detractors of the proposed project will have a chance to share their opinions at the meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor It\u2019s been a hot topic as of late and more information about it was shared Thursday night. Van Wert Area Economic Development Director Brent Stevens was the keynote speaker at Vantage Career Center\u2019s All-Boards Dinner and Alumni Hall of Fame night on Thursday and he spoke about the planned $10 billion data […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 02:32:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204746"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204750,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204746\/revisions\/204750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}