American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest electricity producers, has announced plans to expand its operations in the Columbus Region, investing more than $125 million and creating 17 new jobs. With this investment, AEP will construct a 22,000-square-foot, Tier III backup data center in Groveport that will connect to AEP’s primary data center in New Albany.
AEP currently operates its Transmission Operations Center, as well as its primary production data center, from separate facilities in New Albany. AEP’s new data center in Groveport will provide enterprise infrastructure solutions for critical business applications, while serving as a disaster recovery data center. Data will flow between AEP’s primary center in New Albany and the new backup data center via an AEP-owned fiber network, allowing the company to centralize its technology for a faster recovery period.
Based in Columbus, AEP is focused on building smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to its customers. AEP operates and maintains the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe and reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP is also one of the nation’s largest electricity producers.
“While Groveport’s strength has traditionally been in warehouse and distribution operations, AEP’s new facility will be the first data center located in Groveport, highlighting the successful diversification of our economic base as we look to the future” said Jeff Green, director of finance and assistant city administrator at the City of Groveport. “By locating its critical data facility here, AEP is providing depth and credibility to the community’s infrastructure stability.”
Data center operators in the Columbus Region benefit from a robust fiber optic and electrical infrastructure, competitive power costs, low natural disaster risk and one of the nation’s best tax climates for data centers. The Region is home to more than 50 data centers, making it one of the most fiber-rich, high-tech areas in the U.S.
About American Electric Power
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s more than 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 33,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,200 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. Learn more at aep.com.
About Columbus 2020
As the economic development organization for the Columbus Region, Columbus 2020’s mission is to generate opportunity and build capacity for economic growth across 11 Central Ohio counties. In 2010, hundreds of business and community leaders developed the Columbus 2020 Regional Growth Strategy, and the Columbus Region is now experiencing the strongest decade of growth in its history. The Columbus 2020 team conducts business outreach, promotes the Columbus Region to market-leading companies around the world, conducts customized research to better understand the Columbus Region’s competitiveness, and works to leverage public, private and institutional partnerships. Funding is received from more than 300 private organizations, local governments, academic institutions and JobsOhio. Learn more at ColumbusRegion.com.