[0:00] Hello everyone. My name is Carolyn
Jackson and I am the regional community
[0:04] engagement manager for Amazon and your
facilitator
[0:09] for today's information session. I've
been with Amazon for four years helping
[0:13] to support community engagement for our
data centers and making sure we're being
[0:17] a good neighbor.
[0:24] Here is our plan for the next hour.
[0:29] Amazon technical experts will walk us
through what's being planned and what's
[0:34] already underway and what it means for
the city of Sydney.
[0:46] We set aside time at the end of the
session to answer questions you've
[0:49] submitted when registering. This is
designed as an educational session.
[0:55] You'll hear directly from people closest
to the work. To ensure we provide as
[1:00] much information as we can in this hour,
we will have some team members joining
[1:05] us live and others pre-recorded.
The goal of this time is to have a
[1:10] transparent as possible to be
transparent as possible and share
[1:14] information we know is top priority for
everyone.
[1:18] We believe communities deserve to be
brought along the journey and we will do
[1:22] our very best to address your questions.
you have shared.
[1:30] As you can see here, we have a packed
agenda today. We'll start off with a
[1:35] quick overview of data centers and then
get into topics such as air permitting,
[1:40] environment, and acoustics, followed by
a plan for the city of Sydney.
[1:47] We'll also address some of your top
concerns, including water use, energy
[1:52] use, and sound, and then discuss some of
the great opportunities the data centers
[1:57] will bring to your community, as well as
many ways Amazon plans to give back and
[2:03] invest in a future ready workforce.
[2:08] As I've shared, we have a lot of great
information to share with you today. To
[2:13] get us started and share his perspective
on this collaboration, we're pleased to
[2:19] present a message from your mayor, Mike
Barhost.
[2:24] » Good evening and thank you for taking
time from your busy schedules to join us
[2:27] for this webinar. As I begin, I want to
acknowledge that navigating the unknown
[2:32] can be difficult. As human beings, it is
natural to focus on the worst case
[2:38] scenario when we don't know what the
future's going to bring. I've been
[2:42] around a long time and I was serving on
city council when it was announced that
[2:45] Honda would be locating a large
manufacturing facility near Anna. To say
[2:51] that the entire county was in an uproar
would be an understatement. I attended
[2:55] many of the public meetings in the 1980s
and I heard many of the same concerns
[3:00] and sentiments that I'm hearing today
regarding the Amazon data center. There
[3:04] were concerns about the impact on our
agricultural heritage, environmental
[3:08] issues, foreign investment, and many
other questions about what Japanese
[3:12] presence in our community would mean.
Fast forward more than 40 years, and we
[3:17] can look back with the benefit of that
experience.
[3:21] Honda has become a vibrant and valued
part of the fabric of our community.
[3:26] Friends and family members have built
careers and supported their livelihoods
[3:31] because of this investment. Local
businesses and community organizations
[3:35] have benefited and the economic
opportunities created by the project
[3:39] have had a lasting impact.
Looking back, I will tell you that when
[3:43] I first began serving on city council,
Sydney had the highest per capita
[3:47] unemployment rate in the state of Ohio.
When I left council 12 years later, we
[3:53] had the lowest per capita unemployment
rate in the state. That dramatic
[3:57] turnaround was the result of the hard
work of many in the community who are no
[4:01] longer with us and of course Japanese
investment. I believe Shelby County is
[4:07] stronger today because we welcomed
Honda's investment and work through the
[4:10] uncertainties together. I believe we
have a similar opportunity with Amazon's
[4:14] investment in our community. We should
certainly ask thoughtful questions,
[4:19] address legitimate concerns, and make
sure we protect the things that make our
[4:23] community special. But we should also
allow ourselves to consider the
[4:27] possibilities, not just the risks. We
cannot know exactly what the next 40
[4:33] years will bring. But our history
reminds us that change, while sometimes
[4:37] uncomfortable, can also create
opportunity, strengthen our community,
[4:42] and benefit generations to come. I
believe Amazon's investment has a
[4:48] potential to do exactly that. With those
brief remarks, I'd like to turn this
[4:53] presentation over to the experts from
Amazon and thank you again for being
[4:57] with us.
>> Hello everyone. I'm Brandon Jones and
[5:02] I'm the regional operations leader for
Ohio. Today I'm going to give you a
[5:05] quick overview of data centers. A data
center is a large-scale facility packed
[5:09] with servers, networking gear, and the
power and cooling systems that keep all
[5:14] of it running. Every time someone
streams a movie, trains an AI model,
[5:18] processes a financial transaction, or
stores medical records in the cloud,
[5:23] that request gets handled inside one of
these buildings. From helping to route,
[5:27] process, and connect over 240 million
911 calls every year to enabling online
[5:34] purchases and secure ebanking to
facilitating critical government
[5:38] services like delivering social security
benefits to more than 70 million
[5:42] Americans or even streaming your
favorite show. Data centers make all of
[5:47] this possible. You probably watched
Netflix last night. More than 325
[5:52] million people subscribe globally.
Nearly all of that service runs on AWS
[5:57] infrastructure maintained by our
builders daily. Here's what happens when
[6:01] you press play. You tap a title on your
TV. That request leaves your home,
[6:07] travels through your internet service
provider, and reaches a Netflix
[6:10] application running inside an AWS data
center. Within milliseconds, Netflix's
[6:16] software checks your account, generates
personalized recommendations through
[6:20] machine learning models on AWS compute,
and identifies the right video file,
[6:25] pre-enccoded into dozens of formats and
resolutions using more than 100,000
[6:30] server instances. The touch of a button
feels effortless, but behind every
[6:34] digital interaction is a data center,
powering the connectivity, innovation,
[6:39] and economic growth that defines today's
world.
[6:46] Folks, I'm Laura Markman. I'm a senior
air quality engineer with AWS and I'm
[6:50] here to talk to you about the air
permitting aspect of this project in
[6:53] Sydney, Ohio. From an air permitting
strategy perspective, we plan to permit
[6:58] this site as a synthetic minor source
respect to PSD permitting. We will
[7:03] obtain a permit to install followed by a
title 5 major source permit to operate
[7:08] from Ohio EPA Department of Air
Pollution Control. With regards to the
[7:13] type of generators, we plan to install
state-of-the-art tier 2 certified
[7:17] generators which will be fitted with
tier 4 emissions control systems.
[7:23] All of these tier 2 critical emergency
generators fitted with tier 4 emissions
[7:28] reduction technology will reduce
emissions of criteria pollutants
[7:32] including NOx, VOCC's, particulate
matter, and carbon monoxide from the
[7:37] facility.
It's also really important to note that
[7:40] these generators are permitted as
emergency backup generators and on
[7:44] average each of our emergency generators
operate about 10 hours per year. We are
[7:49] not operating these generators 24/7, 365
days per year.
[7:54] The last point I'd like to draw your
attention to is that based on a 2023
[7:59] study by the Joint Legislative Audit and
Review Committee, the study found that
[8:04] even though data center facilities
permit up to 250 tons per year, in
[8:08] reality, the operators of those
facilities only emit approximately 7% of
[8:13] what those permits allow. And that's
absolutely our intention for this
[8:17] particular site as well, to make sure we
minimize emissions from our facility.
[8:22] Thank you very much for listening.
Appreciate your time.
[8:27] » Hi, I'm Michael Mea, regional
environmental engineer at AWS, and I'm
[8:31] here to touch on AWS's environmental
permitting and mitigation strategy at
[8:36] this project site in Sydney, Ohio. I'd
like to take a moment to speak on AWS's
[8:41] commitment to environmental protection.
Prior to site selection, Amazon conducts
[8:47] thorough assessments of evaluating
wetlands, waterways, sensitive
[8:51] ecosystems, as well as protective
species and their habitats.
[8:56] These findings directly shape site
selection and design decisions, ensuring
[9:01] environmental impacts are avoided or
reduced as much as possible, and all
[9:05] regulatory requirements are met from
initial planning through the full data
[9:09] center life cycle. As part of AWS's
efforts to minimize environmental
[9:14] impacts, we strive to avoid wetlands in
a manner reasonable to site development.
[9:19] At current, AWS has designed to avoid
over 61% of delineated wetland features
[9:26] and ponds at the site. Along with that,
less than 0.18% of the entire project
[9:31] site will potentially impact wetlands.
with wetland impacts. AWS has submitted
[9:37] for and received an approved
jurisdictional determination, otherwise
[9:41] known as AJ.
An isolated wetland permit has also been
[9:46] submitted for in conjunction with AJ.
AWS's wetland mitigation efforts to
[9:51] preserve habitat within the area are
aligned to all rules and regulations set
[9:56] forth by the applicable authority having
jurisdiction.
[10:00] As part of site development, Amazon will
utilize native plantings across the site
[10:05] to increase plant diversity and overall
vegetative quantity. In line with
[10:10] preserving habitat, this project site
will avoid all potential impacts to
[10:14] threatened, endangered, and/or candidate
species and their habitats.
[10:19] Thank you so much for listening.
>> Hello everyone. Uh my name is Jafar
[10:24] Alcalaf. I'm an acoustic field engineer
at AWS with over 10 years of experience
[10:31] conducting environmental noise
assessments. I'm here to present to you
[10:35] information about acoustics and the
sound mitigation that AWS considers on
[10:41] their data center sites.
[10:46] The main sources of operational sound
from data centers are cooling and
[10:51] ventilation equipment as well as backup
generators.
[10:56] The cooling and ventilation equipment
tends to be the primary source of noise
[11:00] concerns since it operates continuously.
For backup generators, a common
[11:06] misconception is that they operate 24/7
as well. However, backup generators are
[11:13] typically operated intermittently for
short periods of time during testing and
[11:19] maintenance
and as presented previously are
[11:23] generally expected to operate 10 hours
or less per year.
[11:28] In addition to operational sound,
temporary construction activities at a
[11:32] campus produce sound that can affect
nearby communities.
[11:37] Amazon contractors regularly apply best
management practices to reduce
[11:42] construction noise impacts.
[11:50] There has been a concern that multiple
data centers will multiply sound, but
[11:56] the reality is that two data centers of
equal sound would not result in a
[12:02] doubling of loudness.
As part of this presentation, it is
[12:06] helpful to provide information regarding
the science of sound. Sound is
[12:12] characterized by pressure fluctuations
in a medium, in this case, air. The
[12:17] pressure levels vary enormously over the
range of human hearing. And we use
[12:23] decibb which operates on a lo
logarithmic scale to compress the very
[12:30] wide range of pressures to a more
manageable range of numbers.
[12:35] The decibb logarithmic scale changes the
map from we what we typically know.
[12:41] Uh for example 50 dB plus 50 dB is equal
to 53 dB not 100 dB. And that three
[12:52] decibel increase is just perceivable.
10 times the number of noise sources
[12:59] results in a 10 decel increase compared
to a single source.
[13:04] And that 10 decel increase is perceived
as a doubling of sound. To recap, it
[13:11] would take 10 of the same sources
essentially stacked on top of each other
[13:16] to result in a doubling of perceived
loudness.
[13:20] The chart on the right of this screen
presents common outdoor sound levels.
[13:26] Similar charts can be found at many
sites, including the EPA's website and
[13:31] the Federal Transmit Administration's
website.
[13:37] Amazon designs and operates their data
centers in compliance with all local
[13:42] sound ordinances. This site will be in
compliance with the city of Sydney's
[13:47] code of ordinances that has established
sound level limits for specific zoning
[13:53] designations and Amazon will strive to
do better than regulatory requirements
[13:59] in order to be a good community member.
Uh using conservative summertime cooling
[14:06] assumptions when equipment is expected
to operate at peak capacity,
[14:11] Amazon has designed the site to operate
in the mid40s to low 50s dB at the
[14:18] nearest residential property boundaries.
Most of the time, especially during
[14:24] cooler seasons, the sound levels are
expected to be even lower.
[14:30] Mitigation is identified for each campus
on a sidebyside basis and a buildingby
[14:36] building basis.
Each site has particular characteristics
[14:41] that affect how the noise travels to
offsite communities including the design
[14:47] and orientation of the buildings, the
intervening land and ground types,
[14:52] terrain, and potential intervening
development.
[14:57] These specific characteristics are
considered in the noise assessments
[15:00] conducted for each site. Amazon is one
of the only hyperscalers with a
[15:06] dedicated acoustic program and
specialized engineering team for solving
[15:12] data center sound challenges.
We also use experienced outside noise
[15:17] consultants for conducting the noise
assessments for each site.
[15:23] uh on a siteby-sight basis, Amazon is
proactive about mitigation strategies to
[15:29] reduce not only overall sound levels but
also low frequency and tonal sound
[15:36] characteristics to ensure comprehensive
sound quality management
[15:42] at this site. Noise control measures
include sound damping building materials
[15:47] and insulation,
strategic placement of equipment,
[15:52] visual screening and generator acoustic
enclosures and others.
[15:57] » My name is Nick Andresik. I manage a
team of construction managers for
[16:03] Amazon. I'm going to be talking about
our plans for design and construction of
[16:07] these facilities here in Sydney. Our
construction will take place in four
[16:14] distinct phases. In the first phase,
we'll clear and grade the land and build
[16:18] the foundation for the data centers.
Then from there, we'll erect the
[16:22] physical structure of the data centers.
The most complex phase is what comes
[16:26] next. Uh the interior fit out is when we
install the power distribution systems,
[16:31] the cooling systems, cable pathways, and
more that transforms the empty shells
[16:36] into a functioning data center. Last but
not least, we test every system to
[16:41] ensure resilience before handing over to
our operations team to keep the data
[16:45] center going. When we work to build out
these data center campuses, we're
[16:50] typically handing over some of these
buildings in phases to our operations
[16:55] team. Um throughout the buildout of the
campus as we're handing over different
[17:00] phases to our operations team and the
site logistics change, we're always
[17:05] making sure to communicate extensively
with the city uh so that the city of
[17:10] Sydney in this case will understand uh
which sides of the site are entrances
[17:15] for the operation side or the
construction site. Um, that way the city
[17:19] always has a good strong understanding
of what we're doing on the site and if
[17:23] they ever need access to the site or
want to come see the site, uh, they have
[17:27] the ability to to get where they need to
go.
[17:32] Each phase of the construction process
will have different equipment used,
[17:36] working hours, and number of workers
required on site. But through each
[17:40] phase, we'll prioritize things like
minimizing road congestion through
[17:44] staggered shifts and early starts and
using mitigations to minimize dirt and
[17:49] debris. And throughout the whole
construction process, we'll continue to
[17:53] focus on visual design efforts to ensure
our landscaping and campus is consistent
[17:58] with the surrounding community.
Throughout our other campuses in Ohio,
[18:02] we've been making a lot of efforts to
minimize uh the impact of our
[18:08] construction uh on the community around
us. A really common strategy is that we
[18:14] like to bring in third parties to
provide feedback to us um and to walk
[18:19] our sites with us and provide call outs
to our general contractor and to the
[18:24] Amazon construction team so that we can
make sure to get a third party opinion
[18:29] to take quick action to make sure we're
doing everything we can uh to have uh to
[18:35] minimize the impact on uh the areas
around the construction site.
[18:41] Hi everyone, I'm Zach Ferrara, a senior
data center design manager at Amazon.
[18:47] I'll be sharing some renderings of what
the project will look like once
[18:50] construction is complete.
[18:56] On this slide, you can see an aerial
view of the site. While dimensions and
[19:00] specific landscaping shown are not 100%
accurate, this provides a good depiction
[19:05] of the site layout.
Now, to help you get your bearings, on
[19:10] the right side of your screen is South
Vandermark Road
[19:15] and on the bottom of the screen is West
Mil Creek Road.
[19:22] The primary entrance to our campus is
off of West Mil Creek Road. Here,
[19:28] immediately upon entering the campus,
there is a security gate and a security
[19:33] building.
Above that are some administrative
[19:38] buildings and a parking area.
[19:43] And above that are eight data center
buildings. The smallest of which is
[19:48] here.
And then seven of uniform size here.
[19:54] Seven data centers.
[19:59] Down here you'll see an on-site utility
substation.
[20:05] and three storm water basins. One here,
one here, and one here.
[20:14] All surrounded by landscaping.
On the left side of your screen, there's
[20:19] an elevated landscaped mound.
And this was created to serve as a
[20:25] buffer between our data center campus
and the neighboring residential
[20:31] properties.
[20:34] I'll also note that we've performed
detailed traffic studies for periods
[20:38] both during construction and after
construction and we're working closely
[20:44] with the city and ODOT to implement
improvements to help with construction
[20:49] traffic during peak times.
[20:55] On this next slide, you can see a 3D
rendering of one of the data center
[20:59] buildings. On the bottom, you'll see the
side with our electrical transformers
[21:06] and our generators in their enclosures
connected to the building.
[21:13] On the other side of the building,
there's a few water tanks. There will be
[21:17] parking and a main entrance to the
building.
[21:22] As far as the layout of the building,
the center houses some offices and
[21:27] administrative spaces
and then on each side of the building
[21:31] there's a data hall and the data hall is
where the racks of electronic equipment
[21:36] reside.
Hi everyone, I'm Sergio Chima, an energy
[21:41] project manager on the team. I manage
the substation builds and utility
[21:46] partnerships that connect our data
centers to the grid. It's great to be
[21:49] here. I know data center power is a
topic a lot of people are thinking and
[21:54] asking about right now. So today I want
to walk through it openly. How much
[21:58] power these facilities actually need,
how efficiently we run them, how we keep
[22:02] critical services online, and what our
partnership with the utility means for
[22:07] this community.
[22:11] Let me explain how our relationship with
utility works because it's structured to
[22:14] be a win for everyone in the region, not
just Amazon. First, we're coming in as a
[22:20] customer under a regulated tariff.
Amazon will be a large customer of the
[22:25] utility taking power at the transmission
level. Because this is a regulated
[22:29] arrangement, it comes with built-in
protections for existing utility
[22:32] customers. So, residential and
commercial rate payers in the area
[22:36] aren't absorbing the cost of serving our
load. The diagram on the right shows
[22:41] where we sit. We're pulling power from
the high voltage transmission system
[22:45] upstream of the local distribution
network. that serves homes and
[22:49] businesses. Second, we pay for the
transmission upgrades we drive. AWS
[22:56] funds the transmission subsystem
upgrades needed to bring our campuses
[23:00] online. And we don't just fund the
substations. We build, own, and operate
[23:04] them ourselves. That means we carry the
capital cost and the operational
[23:09] responsibility for the infrastructure
that directly serves our facilities.
[23:15] Third, we contribute beyond our own
footprint. On top of the infrastructure
[23:19] dedicated to us, we contribute toward
broader systemwide upgrades and
[23:24] reinforcement of existing
infrastructure. Those investments
[23:27] improve grid reliability for all
customers on the utility systems.
[23:33] So, our presence help strengthen the
grid the whole community depends on.
[23:38] Bottom line, you know, we're a large,
stable, long-term load that pays its own
[23:43] way, funds its own connection, and
invests in the shared grid, all under a
[23:47] regulated framework designed to protect
existing customers.
[23:55] First, reliability. The new assets we
build to serve our facilities don't just
[24:00] serve Amazon. They're shown to
strengthen the resilience and
[24:03] reliability of the broader community's
energy system. When we invest in modern
[24:07] transmission and substation
infrastructure, that hardening benefits
[24:11] everyone on the grid, not just our
campuses. Second, energy efficiency.
[24:17] Amazon operates some of the most
efficient data centers in the world. Our
[24:21] facilities run at a power usage
effectiveness or PUE score of 1.15. To
[24:27] put that in context, a perfect score is
1.0 and the industry average sits around
[24:32] 1.25. So we're operating very close to
the theoretical best and meaningfully
[24:37] better than the typical data center.
That efficiency means we get more useful
[24:42] computing out of every unit of energy we
draw. Third, carbon-f free energy.
[24:48] Amazon is one of the biggest corporate
purchasers of carbon-f free energy
[24:53] across all of our operations and we take
this seriously and we've contracted
[24:57] hundreds of CF projects worldwide. And
this isn't just a global story. Right
[25:02] here in Ohio, we've contracted 24 wind
and solar projects that will add a total
[25:08] of 2.7 gawatts of capacity, enough to
power more than 520,000 homes in Ohio.
[25:14] That's direct local investment that adds
clean generation to the regional grid.
[25:20] The takeaway, we're not just consuming
power. We're helping make the global
[25:24] grid more reliable. We're using energy
as efficiently as anyone in the
[25:28] industry. And we're actively investing
in clean energy in the communities where
[25:33] we operate.
[25:36] Let me address backup generators. Who
they protect, how rarely they run, and
[25:42] where they actually fit in our design.
First, who depends on this? Amazon data
[25:47] centers serve millions of customers,
including hospitals, first responders,
[25:52] energy systems, and national security
agencies. Functions that require
[25:57] uninterrupted 247 operation. When you're
supporting life-saving care and critical
[26:03] infrastructure, there's no acceptable
amount of downtime.
[26:07] Generators are actually our last line of
defense, not our first. It's worth
[26:11] understanding that we design for
reliability in layers. We start with
[26:15] redundant utility feeds so a single
utility failure doesn't take us down. Be
[26:20] behind that battery systems provide
instant power to bridge the brief gap
[26:25] during any transfer. Generators sit
behind both of those. They're the
[26:30] emergency backups back stop that only
comes into play if the earlier layers
[26:35] are exhausted. So by the time a
generator is needed, multiple safeguards
[26:39] have already done their job.
And that's why they run so rarely
[26:44] because they're an emergencyonly
resource. Each generator runs minimally.
[26:48] And almost all of that limited runtime
is required maintenance and reliability
[26:53] testing, not actual outages. Grid
disruptions are rare events. The
[26:58] generators simply stand in reserve for
the moment that they might be needed.
[27:03] And they're clean and compliant. Our
emergency generators meet the same
[27:07] emission standard as modern highway
trucks. and they their use and
[27:11] maintenance comply with all applicable
state and federal regulations. They're
[27:16] well-maintained, permitted, and
monitored. The bottom line is that
[27:20] generators exist to protect the
hospitals, first responders, and
[27:24] critical services that depend on us.
They're the final safeguard in a
[27:28] multi-layered system used rarely, held
to modern emission standards, and
[27:33] operated in full compliance.
[27:42] Hi everyone. Thank you all for being
here. Uh my name is Ibrahim Aes and I am
[27:47] a water infrastructure manager at Amazon
and I'll be going over why and how data
[27:52] centers use water.
[27:55] We use water for different reasons.
Obviously there are the people who are
[27:59] operating the data centers and they have
their domestic needs. We also have water
[28:04] for fire suppression. The one we get the
most questions about though is water for
[28:08] cooling. There's a misconception amongst
people that all data centers use the
[28:13] same amount of cooling water. One thing
I want you to take away from this
[28:17] conversation is that is a misconception.
Just like cars that don't have the same
[28:22] fuel efficiency, data centers also
differ in their water efficiency. We are
[28:27] here at Amazon are very proud of how we
use water that leads to industry-leading
[28:33] water efficiency. Data center water use
for cooling is a function of three
[28:38] things. Number one, it's a function of
how you operate the data center. Two,
[28:43] climate conditions. And three, what type
of technology is used? We use highly
[28:48] efficient cooling technology where we
only need water for only a fraction of
[28:52] the year.
Now, as I mentioned, our data centers
[28:57] are highly water efficient. And in
Sydney, we will be using outside air for
[29:02] cooling 97% of the time and only use
water 3% of the year when the outside
[29:08] air is too warm to cool the servers. The
cooling process is similar to a cooling
[29:13] towel where some of the water that
evaporates and the air gets cooled.
[29:18] Using water for cooling allows our data
centers to reduce power consumption on
[29:23] the hottest of days of the year by
around 25 to 35%.
[29:30] Amazon's data centers have high
standards for water efficiency. In fact,
[29:34] we use seven times less water than the
industry average for data centers with a
[29:39] water efficiency rate of 12 L per
kilowatt hour at full buildout of seven
[29:45] data centers in Sydney. We are projected
to use approximately 5 million gallons
[29:50] of water per year, which is
significantly less than a typical golf
[29:54] course, which uses around 21 million
gallons per year to water its lawns.
[30:01] Now, sustainability is a top priority
for Amazon. As we build infrastructure
[30:05] that will power our lives for
generations, we've made a commitment to
[30:09] return more water to our communities
than we use in our direct operations by
[30:14] 2030. Our water positive projects in
Ohio include partnering with the Nature
[30:19] Nature Conservancy and others to restore
11 acres of wetlands in Ohio. The
[30:25] project is expected to filter 77 million
gallons of water each year. Amazon is
[30:31] 75% of the way to achieving our water
positive goal. In 2025, we returned
[30:36] three gallons for every four gallons we
had used. And we've announced over 50
[30:42] water projects that are expected to
return over 5.8 8 billion gallons
[30:47] annually once fully implemented.
[30:53] Once operational, our project in Sydney
will be fully connected to the existing
[30:56] municipal water supply and sanitary
sanitary sewer infrastructure,
[31:01] eliminating the need for on-site
groundwater extraction for private or
[31:05] septic systems. This means our
operations will not rely on groundwater
[31:10] withdrawals that could affect local
aquifer levels, well yields, or
[31:14] groundwater flow conditions. We will be
using water from the city of Sydney's
[31:18] public water system, which gets its
supply from multiple sources, including
[31:23] groundwater wells, the Great Miami
River, and Tawa Creek. The city's
[31:28] existing water system has sufficient
capacity to support our existing needs
[31:32] and for any planned growth from project
like ours. No additional water or sewer
[31:37] infrastructure is needed to serve our
data center project within Sydney
[31:41] because the existing infrastructure can
accommodate all of our needs. This means
[31:45] our development will not have any impact
on rateayers bills in any way and that
[31:50] is far from what we are looking to have
happen.
[31:55] » Hi everyone, I'm Coy Robersonson,
community engagement manager. I'm here
[32:00] to talk about Amazon's community
engagement efforts. It's important for
[32:04] us to use our scale and resources to
strengthen communities where we operate
[32:08] and to dedicate resources to make
improvements in areas that matter most
[32:12] to you all. We are ramping up to work
closely with local organizations,
[32:17] nonprofits, schools, and community
members across Sydney to better
[32:21] understand your needs and find ways to
contribute in a way that is both
[32:25] thoughtful and impactful. Our community
engagement efforts are anchored by four
[32:30] key pillars. First, STEM education. We
collaborate extensively with K through2
[32:37] school districts on science, technology,
energy, excuse me, engineering, arts,
[32:42] and mathematical education initiatives.
Our think big STEM education programming
[32:47] includes our think big spaces. These are
dedicated learning spaces and labs built
[32:53] in a school or community center where
students can explore cloud computing and
[32:57] technology. We also have a mobile
version of these facilities with
[33:01] dedicated facilitators who will deliver
STEM education and conduct training in
[33:06] local schools. These aren't one-time
events. They are sustained programs
[33:11] designed to open doors for the next
generation. We have already opened 24
[33:16] think big spaces in Ohio in the
communities where we operate.
[33:21] Second, skills training initiatives. We
invest in workforce development programs
[33:26] designed to help individuals gain the
skills needed for careers in cloud
[33:31] computing and infrastructure. By
collaborating with local education
[33:35] institutions and community
organizations, we'll continue to create
[33:39] opportunities for students, job seekers,
and career changers to build in- demand
[33:44] skills. Sustainability.
We are committed to environmental
[33:49] stewardship, working toward 100%
renewable energy and net zerocarbon
[33:54] emissions. At a local level, we will
make efforts to hear from you on what
[33:59] you would most like to see across
Sydney. But what we've delivered to date
[34:03] to communities across the country
include everything from planting trees
[34:07] for canopy, rehabilitating community
gardens for education and food sources,
[34:12] creating new green spaces, solar builds
for local community buildings and smart
[34:17] wetland projects.
Fourth, hyperloal impact. This again
[34:23] meaning means listening to what the
community needs. We will support
[34:28] organizations, community-driven projects
that address the priorities that you
[34:32] identify. Whether that is supporting
local nonprofit organizations, disaster
[34:37] relief efforts, sponsoring local
festivals and events, volunteering at
[34:42] the local food bank, improving access to
education, healthcare, and basic
[34:46] resources, or building a new playground
for the young people.
[34:50] Amazon has partnered with the community
fund, the community foundation of Shelby
[34:54] County and will host a community
engagement meet and greet in Sydney open
[34:58] to community organizations around Shelby
County. We are also welcome working
[35:03] together to launch a $100,000 community
fund that will open on September 17th,
[35:09] 2026.
For more information, visit the
[35:13] Community Foundation of Shelby County
website.
[35:20] Hi everyone, great to be here. I'm John
Workman, economic development manager
[35:24] for AWS. And today I'm going to talk
about exciting economic development and
[35:28] workforce opportunities coming to Sydney
as a result of the data center
[35:32] development.
We plan to invest $3 billion and create
[35:37] at least 75 direct jobs as a result of
the project. But beyond job creation,
[35:42] our investment will create economic
benefits for the city community.
[35:46] Amazon's agreement with the city
includes $50 million in direct payments
[35:50] that school and city leaders can direct
towards priorities like fixing roads,
[35:54] investing in public safety, and more.
Additionally, the data centers will
[35:58] support hundreds more jobs during the
construction phase and across the data
[36:02] center supply chain and in the local
community.
[36:06] As part of our commitment to building a
pipeline of local talent, Amazon
[36:10] partners with local education and
workforce development organizations in
[36:14] the community to help them align their
efforts to the demand for cloud
[36:17] computing and infrastructure talent. The
expansion of cloud computing technology
[36:22] over the last decades has resulted in an
explosion of demand in talent and our
[36:27] team's role is to translate that growth
in demand into opportunity for learners
[36:32] and job seekers in the communities where
we build. Just like here in Sydney, as
[36:36] Brandon mentioned earlier, this demand
is continuing to be created by all the
[36:40] things you can do on your phone, tablet,
and laptops. All sectors of the economy
[36:44] are either born in the cloud or running
cloud computing work streams. Those
[36:49] customers require data centers to carry
their loads and that's where we focus on
[36:54] the demand for talent at the physical
layer of the technology stack.
[36:59] We bucket that demand, thousands of jobs
and roles into four functional areas.
[37:05] Building data centers, connecting them
with fiber, providing them with power,
[37:09] and operating and maintaining them.
The jobs that you see here on this slide
[37:16] are just a small cross-section of the
roles related to that important work.
[37:20] The overwhelming majority of those these
roles, the high demand careers are with
[37:24] our vendors and contractors. But at
Amazon, we also have a robust demand for
[37:29] talent. As of the end of 2025, we've
hired over 1,500 full-time employees in
[37:34] the state of Ohio with over $160 million
in annual payroll to support our ongoing
[37:40] data center operations.
What we think about is how to translate
[37:44] that demand into opportunity for
residents. Our solution is to work with
[37:48] the local education and workforce
development organizations in the region
[37:51] to help make sure those two things are
aligned.
[37:56] This work has been going on for many
years in Ohio and cuts across three
[37:59] different dimensions. Preparing
instructors and making sure they are
[38:03] fluent and well-versed in industry
technologies. Working with educators and
[38:07] workforce development program developers
to make sure what students are learning
[38:11] is authentic and reflects what they will
need when they enter the workforce. And
[38:15] making sure the facilities where the
learning happens are equipped with the
[38:18] tools and equipment job seekers will
need. As you can tell from the roles
[38:22] previously discussed, many of these are
hands-on and skills trade-based roles
[38:27] where we think about managing electrical
systems, mechanical systems, HVAC, fiber
[38:33] optic technology. So, we make sure the
equipment they are learning on reflects
[38:37] what they will use on the job.
AWS partners with organizations across
[38:43] Ohio to deliver skills-based training
that prepares people for careers in data
[38:47] center operations. Our programs include
the data center operations program, the
[38:52] AWS Academy cloud computing curriculum
with Columbus State Community College,
[38:56] and workbased learning pathways that
connect participants to internships and
[39:00] entry-level roles. To address the
growing need for fiber skilled talent,
[39:05] AWS and Sumattomo Electric Lightwave
co-hosted fiber optic fusion splicing
[39:09] certificate courses during Ohio's first
ever fiber broadband awareness week.
[39:14] During these free two-day courses
organized in conjunction with Tols
[39:18] Career and Technical Center, Sinclair
Community College, the Past Foundation,
[39:22] and Team Fishial, participants were able
to get hands-on skills for fiber optic
[39:27] installation and repair, plus a career
networking session with some of those in
[39:30] the industry. AWS also introduced a
fiber optic technician course at the
[39:35] National Center for Urban Solutions,
helping graduates earn certifications
[39:39] and connect with broadband employers.
Building on this momentum, we have
[39:43] launched two more initiatives. The
information infrastructure workshop for
[39:47] educators or I2W, which gives central
Ohio educators insight into cloud
[39:52] infrastructure careers so they can
better guide students and the
[39:55] information infrastructure
pre-apprenticeship program or I2PA,
[39:59] which is a 120 hour paid program for
individuals with limited prior
[40:04] experience. I2PA offers instruction from
local contractors in fiber optics,
[40:09] mechanical systems, and electrical work.
At Tolse Tech, participants earned
[40:13] industry credentials and attended a job
fair with AWS and contractor hiring
[40:17] managers, connecting technical training
directly to career opportunities in
[40:21] cloud computing. We look forward to
working closely with the Sydney
[40:24] community to advance these economic and
workforce opportunities.
[40:33] Thank you to our Amazon team for their
wonderful presentations. I hope that the
[40:38] experts were able to provide everyone
valuable insights on the project.
[40:43] As promised, we would like to address
your questions. We received a lot of
[40:48] questions during the registration. to
make sure that we cover as much as
[40:52] possible. We're we have decided to group
our questions into to the top themes
[40:57] we've heard most frequently from you. I
have John here with me now and we will
[41:03] bring in Abraham shortly to address your
water related questions. So John, let's
[41:08] get started.
One of the first things we heard from
[41:11] the community was about energy.
Specifically, how is Amazon working with
[41:16] AES to ensure grid reliability is
maintained? Um, and that the
[41:22] infrastructure costs aren't passed over
to the residential customers.
[41:28] Great question, Caroline. The short
answer is that Amazon pays its own way.
[41:32] Uh, any new transmission or distribution
infrastructure for our project is
[41:36] entirely funded by Amazon, not by the
rateayers. Um, residential customers
[41:40] will not see rate increases as a result
of our project. And the way that we do
[41:44] that is that we work closely with the
utility provider, in this case AES Ohio,
[41:48] and also the overall interconnection
grid through PJM to model the load
[41:53] impacts well before we come online and
before our facilities ramp up power
[41:57] demand. Um, we ramp up gradually, so
there's no sudden strain on the system.
[42:01] Um, grid reliability for existing
customers is really a baseline
[42:05] requirement for us, not an afterthought.
So, it's something that we're thinking
[42:08] about on the front end. Um, and as
Sergio mentioned earlier, Amazon is one
[42:12] of the largest corporate purchasers of
renewable energy, committed to powering
[42:15] our operations of 100% renewable energy,
which supports long-term grid
[42:19] diversification and energy resilience
for the entire region. So, you know,
[42:23] essentially in the end, we'll end up
providing benefits for all customers.
[42:27] » Thanks, John. That's really helpful.
Staying on the economic side, beyond the
[42:32] de direct positions, how does Amazon
investment support broader economic
[42:37] impact in the county?
>> Yeah, and this is obviously my bread and
[42:42] butter. So, building on what I covered
in our economic development segment, I
[42:45] mean, the direct jobs that we're talking
about really are just the starting
[42:48] point. Um, what I really want to
highlight is the multiplier effect this
[42:51] project is going to create. Our
investment generates ongoing demand for
[42:55] local goods, services, skilled trades,
all of those things that are going to
[42:59] support small businesses throughout
Shelby County and the region as a whole.
[43:02] Everything from construction materials,
food service, professional services,
[43:06] hospitality, the the list kind of goes
on and on. There's going to be increased
[43:10] property tax revenues that are going to
flow directly to the local schools, the
[43:13] first responders. They're going to be
used to build roads to help uh create
[43:17] community infrastructure that are really
going to benefit all the residents. Um,
[43:21] our supply chain requires ongoing
maintenance, supplies, service
[43:24] contracts, many of which can be filled
by local and regional vendors and we
[43:28] will strive to do that. And there are a
lot of studies that show that data
[43:31] center investments consistently create
um additional jobs beyond what is
[43:35] actually created at the data center.
Some sometimes upwards of five or six
[43:39] jobs are created in the local economy
for each job that's created at a data
[43:42] center. So the economic benefit of these
projects is significantly broader than
[43:46] just the direct jobs at the site, which
will still be significant.
[43:51] very valuable. Can you talk a little bit
more about how Amazon will partner with
[43:56] the local Shelby County organizations to
prepare residents for job opportunities?
[44:01] » Yeah, it's it's a good segue. So, we're
committed to making sure that Shelby
[44:05] County residents are are available and
in line for the opportunities that this
[44:08] project creates. Uh we're going to
partner with the local community
[44:11] colleges and the technical schools and
the workforce development boards to
[44:14] build the training pipelines, tuition
assistance, certifications,
[44:18] apprenticeship programs. Uh obviously,
we'll be working closely with the local
[44:22] economic development organizations,
chambers, and community groups to align
[44:26] on workforce readiness needs and hiring
needs. And during construction, we're
[44:30] going to work closely with our general
contractors and obviously with their
[44:32] subs as well to prioritize local
subcontractors and regional labor
[44:37] wherever that's possible. So, uh, we
will continue to to deepen those
[44:41] partnerships and those relationships
over the coming months as construction
[44:44] gets underway.
>> Thank you. So, good to hear. Now,
[44:49] shifting over to construction. Uh, can
you share more about what steps Amazon
[44:54] will be taking to minimize traffic
impacts for neighbors who might live
[44:58] very close to that site?
>> Yeah, another good segue. And and I
[45:02] certainly understand this concern. I
have data centers that are being
[45:05] constructed in my community uh kind of
on both sides. both east and west. So,
[45:10] um before work begins, we're going to do
detailed traffic management plans in
[45:13] coordination with the city and the local
transportation authorities. The heavy
[45:17] trucks are going to follow designated
hall routes away from residential and
[45:21] school zones. We're going to monitor
road conditions and obviously if any
[45:24] roads are degraded or damaged as a
result of our construction, we are going
[45:28] to repair those and we will cover the
cost to repair those. We adhere to the
[45:32] local noise ordinances and limit the
most impactful activities to during the
[45:36] day, right during the business hours.
Um, and the campus is going to be built
[45:40] in phases. Uh, so the activity is going
to be spread out over time than all
[45:43] seven buildings being constructed at one
time. Um, I would encourage residents if
[45:48] they experience issues at any point, uh,
reach out to our community team or reach
[45:52] out to your city representatives who
obviously know how to get a hold of us
[45:55] because we want to be responsive
throughout the entire process.
[46:00] Thank you for sharing. Definitely a
example of being a good neighbor, making
[46:05] sure that we're taking these uh ways to
make sure that we're being uh listening
[46:10] to our our neighbors and being being
there to address those actual questions.
[46:14] Um the next question that I have, can
you tell us a little bit more about
[46:18] engineering plans for screening the site
on the western and the southern
[46:24] exposure?
>> Yeah, absolutely. I think Zach did a
[46:26] great job of of kind of showing that to
us in the design segment. But on the
[46:30] western and the southern exposure
specifically, there's going to be
[46:33] multi-layered screening. So that's going
to include canopy trees, understory
[46:37] plantings, some burming where we have
the space to be able to do that. And
[46:41] really the goal is to have yearround
visual buffering from adjacent
[46:46] properties and roadways. And you know,
obviously some of that is going to take
[46:49] time. We know how long it takes for
things to grow in Ohio. The trees are
[46:52] not going to grow up overnight. Um but
we have those plans in place and that is
[46:56] the the end intent. Um they were
developed with professional landscape
[46:59] architects obviously comply with local
codes. Typically we exceed minimum
[47:04] requirements with respect to tree
planting and and screening of our
[47:07] facilities. So they've been reviewed
throughout the permitting process in
[47:10] coordination with the local planning
staff. Um and we're committed to making
[47:14] sure that the plantings will will
continue to grow up and if not we will
[47:17] replace them and continue to interact
with the community and and figure out
[47:19] what works best.
>> Good to hear. Um, another question that
[47:24] came up about the process itself. Um,
what does Amazon look for when selecting
[47:29] a site and partnering with the community
and why are there NDAs required?
[47:35] Our site selection process is
multifaceted. Uh, robust utility
[47:38] infrastructure that won't strain
existing resources is obviously very
[47:42] important to us. access to a skilled
workforce, which we think that we have
[47:45] in this region, compatible land use,
permitting pathways, uh, fiber
[47:50] connectivity, and most importantly, a
community that actually wants us to be
[47:54] there, right? A community that
recognizes the benefits of an economic
[47:57] development project like this. Um, on
NDA specifically, um, confidentiality
[48:02] during site selection is is kind of a
standard process across economic
[48:06] development. It's not unique to us or
even to data centers. uh spent a long
[48:10] time working for the state on the
economic development side before coming
[48:12] to Amazon. So I know that pretty well.
Um a couple of the reasons behind it on
[48:16] the business side, it prevents land
speculation that could drive up costs
[48:20] and potentially kill a project's
viability. Um it allows us to have some
[48:23] open, honest dialogue with the local
officials about what the project could
[48:26] potentially look like once we have those
answers. Um and it protects competitive
[48:30] business information when multiple
communities are under consideration,
[48:33] which is often the case. We're looking
for these opportunities essentially
[48:36] everywhere. So once a project is
confirmed and announced though, that's
[48:39] when we can shift to transparent
community engagement as we're doing here
[48:43] today. Um and the NDA phase is just kind
of a necessary step in the process for
[48:47] us to get where we are today.
>> Thank you. Uh one more question for you,
[48:53] John. Um the next one is about being
near the rail line. Uh was it selected
[48:59] for that reason? Will Amazon use the
rail to transport materials or power
[49:04] equipment such as small nuclear reactors
to the site?
[49:09] » Yeah, I've heard this one been brought
up at some some of the public hearings
[49:12] and and the quick answer is no on both
counts. On site selection, proximity to
[49:17] a rail line is actually identified by us
as a risk during site selection. Uh
[49:21] industry best practices for our hardware
specifically recommend staying away from
[49:25] rail lines, airports, heavy traffic
corridors. Um, I know I have a rail line
[49:29] not too far from my house and when the
trains come through you can feel it,
[49:32] right? There's a vibration which is not
necessarily great for computer
[49:35] equipment. So, typically we avoid rail
lines and everything that's going to
[49:39] come into the data center, our supplies,
all that kind of stuff is going to come
[49:43] via truck just like any other commercial
building. Um, on the nuclear reactor
[49:47] piece, we're not planning to transport
small nuclear reactors or any other
[49:51] power generation equipment to this site
via the rail or really any other means
[49:55] via truck, whatever it might be. Um, our
data center is going to be powered by
[49:58] the existing AES Ohio electrical grid.
Uh, as Sergio covered earlier, um, the
[50:03] same as any other building, office
building, hospital, uh, whatever it
[50:07] might be. Um, while broadly the tech
industry is starting to explore these
[50:11] things, they're still largely in the
development stage. Um, and there's
[50:14] obviously a lot of licensing and
permitting and things that would go
[50:17] along with that. So, no plans exist for
this site. U, we're powered by the grid,
[50:21] supplied by truck, and we're going to
operate just like any other commercial
[50:24] property in the area.
Thank you. I appreciate that answer. I
[50:29] know I said one more, but now I got one
more because I think this is very
[50:32] important based off uh what we received
from those who registered. This one
[50:37] question is about values of homes. So,
how do data centers impact home values?
[50:44] » Again, one that I certainly understand
and and can sympathize with having data
[50:48] centers in my community as well. Um,
there have been a number of different
[50:52] studies that have examined property
values and data center communities and
[50:55] they consistently show that the the data
centers themselves do not negatively
[50:59] impact residential property values and
in some cases actually the opposite.
[51:02] They've actually caused the residential
property values to to increase. Um,
[51:06] we're quiet. We're low traffic neighbors
compared to other industrial users. We
[51:10] generate minimal vehicle trips u because
we operate 24/7. So, people are coming
[51:15] in and out at different shift times. Um
the tax revenue that's going to be
[51:18] generated is obviously going to create
some significant funds for improvements
[51:21] for the local community. Um in other
places where we've operated for a long
[51:25] time like Northern Virginia, central
Ohio, property values have continued to
[51:29] appreciate alongside with our data
center growth. So um we're happy to
[51:33] connect any interested residents with
thirdparty research on this topic so
[51:37] they can kind of read through that for
themselves and and become educated on
[51:39] that topic.
>> Thank you, John. Uh we know that water
[51:45] was one of the topics that we received
the most questions about. So I would
[51:49] like to bring Ibraham back to address
those questions. Abraham I know earlier
[51:55] covered uh different uh topics around
water. So as a expert in this area I
[52:02] have a few questions for you that I
would like you to address. Um the first
[52:07] question is Amazon water needs may
impact lower water supplies and also the
[52:12] projected water consumption. Can you
talk us through that?
[52:16] » Yeah. No uh that's a great question
Caroline. Um um uh and I think it's an
[52:22] important one to answer. Uh as I covered
in my presentation uh our data centers
[52:26] are designed to be highly water
efficient. Uh we're using water around
[52:30] 30 uh 3% of the year only on the hottest
days of the year. the rest of the year
[52:34] effectively opening up the windows and
letting the outside air cool all the
[52:39] servers. Um, in addition to that, AWS is
always researching new technologies and
[52:44] new ways to be able to use less water
for cooling so that our operations can
[52:49] be even more efficient. What I want to
emphasize here is that for the city of
[52:53] Sydney, the existing water system has a
sufficient capacity to serve both the
[52:59] current community needs as well as the
projected demand for our operations.
[53:04] We're not competing with local residents
for water. We want to be a good
[53:07] neighbor. Um just to reiterate also at
full buildout our annual usage of water
[53:14] is going to be approximately 5 million
gallons um across seven data centers.
[53:20] And if there's about three things I want
people to take away from from this
[53:24] question and answer period this this
presentation is number one uh that all
[53:28] the water will be sourced from the
city's municipal system. There will be
[53:31] no private wells, no groundwater
extraction whatsoever on our part. So
[53:35] that we will have no impacts on the
local aquifer. Um there will be no new
[53:40] water or sewer infrastructure needed to
serve our project. And lastly, there
[53:46] will be no impacts in any way from our
operations or us being a neighbor to the
[53:50] water rates for existing customers. Our
our ultimate goal is to be a good
[53:55] neighbor and have minimal impact on on
the lives of our neighbors around us.
[54:03] » Thank you, Ibraham. One more question
for you. Will the water column for wells
[54:07] in the area be affected by the water
draw?
[54:11] » Yeah, like I mentioned um and I want to
be very clear about this. The answer is
[54:15] uh categorically no. um our operations
will rely will not rely on any
[54:21] groundwater withdrawals whatsoever.
We're connecting exclusively to the
[54:25] city's municipal system. We're not going
to extract any groundwater from on-site
[54:30] wells um or anything that has to do with
the local groundwater whatsoever. Uh
[54:35] which means our operations will not have
any effect on the local aquifer levels,
[54:39] their well yields or groundwater flow
conditions for neighboring properties.
[54:45] » Thank you, Abraham. That was very
useful. John, thank you for your time as
[54:49] well. That covers the top submissions
from the community for the time that we
[54:54] have today. We really appreciate
everyone for joining us. We'll be sure
[54:58] to send out the recorded link of this
session to the city of Sydney to share
[55:02] on their data center FAQ page, which is
updated regularly with the latest
[55:08] information about this project. We are
proud to be investing in this community
[55:12] and we will continue to strive to be a
good neighbor. I hope that you all have
[55:16] a good evening.