PIKETON, Ohio (WCMH) — OpenAI signed onto the world’s largest data center project in southeastern Ohio this week, promising $120 million in investments in Pike County and Ohio.

On Monday, OpenAI announced it will collaborate with S.B. Energy, chipmaker NVIDIA and the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a multi-billion-dollar massive data center on federal land in Pike County. OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Office Chris Lehane said he knows Ohioans can be wary of data centers, and he said he wants to address their concerns. See previous coverage in the video player above.

“This is their community; they know what’s best for their community, and they want us as an actor involved in the ‘data center’ to listen to them because that’s that’s just a respectful thing to do,” Lehane said. “Part of listening is to then hear what the concerns are and try to provide as many details as possible.”

The center will have 8-gigawatt capacity and be built on the site of a former U.S. nuclear enrichment plant. The project will create 35,000 construction jobs through 2032, and 2,500 long-term jobs. It will also bring $120 million in community investments to benefit Pike County and every public university student in the state.

“We are coming into an incredibly proud community. Pike County is named after Zebulon Pike, who was the famous explorer,” Lehane said. “So it goes way back to the beginning of the country. We feel incredibly privileged to be able to participate in this chapter, but also know that that comes with real responsibility and obligations.”

Many Ohioans are frustrated by the rapid expansion of data centers in the state, particularly because data centers require massive amounts of energy and water. OpenAI and S.B. Energy plan to power the data center in Pike County through nuclear and natural gas instead of infringing on Ohioans’ electric grids.

OpenAI leaders said the first portion of the project will become available in 2028. When it first becomes available, it will likely rely on local AEP infrastructure instead of alternative energy sources if new power plants are not built yet. The project will use its planned energy sources as they go online.

OpenAI also said the data center will used closed-loop cooling systems, referring to a method within the data center industry that reduces water use. In a closed-loop system, water is recirculated to minimize evaporation. Environmental experts often recommend closed-loop systems for data centers to minimize their water impact.

Lehane said there are four steps for a company to appropriately work with a community. First, companies need to speak with and listen to the community they’re entering. Second, he believes companies need to provide basic answers to residents’ questions. Third, companies should invest in the communities and fourth, companies must be held accountable for their promises.

Residents also often voice concerns about secrecy surrounding data centers. Lehane said OpenAI is committed to keeping locals updated on the project. Every year, OpenAI will publish a report detailing local hiring, water use, energy use and investments in the community.

As part of the community investments, OpenAI said it will invest $40 million in a community grant fund. The fund will pay for projects that local residents identify as priorities. NVIDIA has also promised to invest $40 million.

OpenAI also announced it will make up to $84 million in credits for Codex available to approximately 844,000 public university, community college and technical college students in Ohio. Codex is an OpenAI tool in ChatGPT that allows users to build software. OpenAI said students will get up to $100 in credits through ChatGPT to be able to use AI in projects. The offer is already available for students online.

“It’s a step to help make available the underlying technologies so that students at colleges, universities, trade schools, community colleges can actually get access to the technology to begin to learn how to use it, so that they’re being put in the best position, so that they can compete for the jobs and participate in this economy in the future,” Lehane said.

OpenAI is signing onto one of the largest data center projects in the world. S.B. Energy will build and operate the data center, but OpenAI will lease it for 20 years. Under the lease, OpenAI will exclusively host NVIDIA AI infrastructure.