Aligned은 퇴역한 코네스빌 석탄 발전소 인근에 오하이오 AI 캠퍼스를 조성할 계획을 발표했으며, 초기 용량 가동을 2026년 중반으로 목표로 하고 있다.
Aligned Data Centers plans a 197-acre, multi-building AI data center campus in Ohio’s Conesville Industrial Park, adjacent to the former AEP Conesville Power Plant. According to the company’s July 24, 2025 announcement carried by GlobeNewswire, initial capacity is targeted for mid-2026, and the first data center has secured a “foundational customer.” Neither Aligned nor Data Center Frontier, which covered the project on July 31, 2025, have identified the tenant. Data Center Frontier describes the adjacent power plant as retired in its coverage.
GlobeNewswire characterizes the development as a brownfield revitalization representing a “multi-billion dollar investment.” Data Center Frontier notes this marks Aligned’s third campus in Ohio, attributing the state’s appeal to available power, established fiber routes, and shifting regulatory incentives, though it does not detail specific abatement programs or incentive values. The announcement emphasizes significant economic impact, projecting thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of long-term operational roles without specifying job classifications or wage ranges.
As liquid cooling becomes a gating specification, Aligned is demonstrating its capabilities early through infrastructure projects outside Ohio. The company’s AI-first push includes liquid cooling laboratories in Phoenix and NVIDIA-accelerated AI deployments with Lambda in Dallas. These technical references address practical questions buyers raise during colocation or build-to-suit negotiations for GPU-heavy workloads, particularly regarding cooling architecture and water strategy. This aligns with broader industry analysis; the Brookings Institution’s overview of data centers identifies energy and water as central pressure points driving AI-era expansion, explaining why operators now demand evidence rather than assurances on cooling systems and water consumption profiles.
Sustainability verification is increasingly influencing procurement standards. Data Center Frontier reports that Aligned’s PHX-06 facility in Phoenix earned a Three Green Globes rating from the Green Building Initiative. While separate from the Ohio site, the certification highlights design elements Aligned associates with efficiency and sustainability, including reduced water usage, efficient energy systems, and renewable power sourcing. For infrastructure governance teams, third-party ratings are becoming practical contract inputs, enabling providers to translate sustainable design commitments into enforceable requirements language, reporting obligations, and performance-linked remedies. Locally, GlobeNewswire notes Aligned’s intent to engage Coshocton County through educational programs and environmental initiatives, though specific program names and funding levels remain undisclosed.
The Ohio project reflects a broader vendor strategy: constructing “proof environments” in parallel with new campus announcements. This approach addresses buyer skepticism and acknowledges that cooling architectures viable in one market do not always translate cleanly across different climates and water regimes. As capacity planning advances toward the mid-2026 delivery window, procurement teams should evaluate how vendors are structuring commitments. To inform the next colocation or build-to-suit statement of work, teams should ask: If capacity is targeted for mid-2026, which milestones are committed by contract versus described as “targeted,” as stated in Aligned’s July 24, 2025 GlobeNewswire announcement? What cooling and power approach will be used for the first data center at Conesville, including any liquid cooling elements, consistent with Data Center Frontier’s discussion of Aligned’s liquid-cooling work in Phoenix and GPU deployments in Dallas?