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The Big 3 — April 20, 2026

April 20, 2026 Source:

Today's throughline: who writes the terms? Three communities answered that question in three different ways this week, and a fourth — Licking County, Ohio — has ten days to answer it.

AEP Ohio has filed notice with the Ohio Power Siting Board for a 345-kilovolt substation and a cluster of transmission lines in Licking County — and residents have until Thursday, April 30 to file a motion to intervene. Curleys Station at Johnstown Utica Road and Tippet Road, plus four cut-ins on the Conesville corridor and two double-circuit tie lines to a customer campus. Case Nos. 26-0351-EL-BLN and 26-0352-EL-BNR. Notice ran in the Newark Advocate on April 20. Read the full story →

Kent and Streetsboro both voted to pause data center applications while they write zoning they can defend — and resident Will Hollingsworth has become the most-quoted citizen voice in the Portage County conversation. Six-month moratorium in Streetsboro, open-ended pause in Kent, and a drafting window that is now the most important public process in the county. Read the full story →

East Manchester Township in York County, Pennsylvania approved a data center ordinance last Tuesday that took nine months to write and went through four public drafts — a reference case for every community that believes it cannot say no. Setback distances, three-point boundary noise studies, lot coverage caps, developer-funded independent traffic studies. Supervisor Daniel Naylor: “I'm proud of the result.” Read the full story →


Also today: Rhode Island's first data center fight has become a governor's race issue as Helena Foulkes backs H7270/S2427 and Gov. McKee stays silent. LaPorte, Indiana held a “heavily attended” public hearing on April 13 — we're trying to learn what residents said and would welcome firsthand accounts. The day's industry announcements and partnership news are collected in today's Signals.

Source: , April 20, 2026.

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