COLUMBUS, OH – June 9, 2025 – The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has officially approved the construction of a 200-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in New Albany, located in Licking County. The new facility, named the Socrates South Power Generation Project, is designed to operate “behind-the-meter,” meaning it will power adjacent facilities without being connected to the broader electric power grid.
The project will be constructed and operated by Will-Power OH, LLC, a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, and will supply electricity exclusively to Sidecat, LLC, a Meta Platforms, Inc. affiliate. Sidecat owns a sprawling 740-acre industrial campus in the New Albany Business Park, where it has developed multiple data centers. The new 20-acre generation facility will sit next to Sidecat’s latest data center, which is currently under construction.
The power plant will receive its natural gas from two 24-inch pipelines, which will be detailed in separate applications to the OPSB at a later date.
OPSB officials noted that because the plant will not connect to the regional grid, it is uniquely tailored to support the energy demands of large-scale tech infrastructure like data centers.
Further details about the Socrates South Power Generation Project, including area maps and approval documentation, can be found under case number 25-0185-EL-BLN on the OPSB’s website. The agency also recently released a new interactive mapping tool that allows users to explore the locations of approved and proposed natural gas power projects statewide.
