- energy
- grid
- permitting
The Ohio Power Siting Board is the state body that must certify major energy infrastructure — large generating plants, high-voltage transmission lines, and big substations — before they are built. Its review weighs need, environmental impact, and public comment through an evidentiary case docketed under a case number, which makes the OPSB file a rich public record of a project's rationale and opposition.
For the data-center thread the OPSB is often where the power side of a campus first surfaces publicly. A new substation or a behind-the-meter generation plant sized to a hyperscale load lands on the board's docket, and the filing can reveal the load — and the operator — before any economic-development announcement does. The board is distinct from the PUCO, which regulates utility service and rates, and from the federal FERC; the OPSB decides where big energy facilities go.