Amazon is looking to develop a data center in Sidney, Ohio.

First reported by local press, including WHIOTV7 and SidneyDailyNews, Amazon has been granted a large tax break as it looks to develop in the Shelby County city.

At a meeting this week, the Sidney city council agreed several tax and development agreements with Amazon Data Services. These include a 30-year, 100 percent tax abatement, with Amazon providing the city a payment in lieu of taxes, totaling $50 million over a 15-year period.

The $3 billion project – known as Project Galaxy – will be located on the north side of Millcreek Road, west of Vandemark Road.

Construction is reportedly set to begin in January 2026 and finish by 2030.

Sidney is a city in Shelby County, Ohio, some 36 miles (57.9km) north of Dayton and 75 miles (120.7km) northwest of Columbus. The city is named after the English Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney. Fiber firm Brightspeed operates a facility in the city.

News that a large technology company was looking at establishing a presence in Sidney surfaced in March, but at the time, there was no mention of it being a data center project.

City staff had recommended the council approve this week’s tax agreement.

An opposition group, Sidney Citizens Data Center Watch, has been set up on Facebook. At the time of writing, it has more than 150 members.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its first data centers in the Midwest in 2016 for its AWS US East cloud region and currently operates data center campuses outside Columbus in Franklin and Licking counties.

Last year, AWS said that it planned to invest an estimated $23bn on data centers in Ohio by the end of 2029/2030.

As well as the New Albany, Hilliard, Southern Point, Jefferson Township, Jerome Township, and Dublin areas of Columbus, Amazon is targeting campuses across Ohio in Sunbury, Marysville, and outside Dayton in Fayette County.

AWS has also invested in 23 wind and solar projects across Ohio. Once operational, these projects are expected to generate more than 2.9GWh of clean energy annually.