Chad Zamarin became president and chief executive officer of Williams in July 2025.
Moderna and Merck announced that their mRNA cancer vaccine succeeded in late-stage melanoma trials – a potentially life-saving medical breakthrough powered by artificial intelligence.
The race for the next generation of technology is not just about the advancement of models; it is about the advancement of human prosperity and flourishing.
The future will not be written by software; it will be enabled by the land, materials, and infrastructure we build to deliver the systems that power it.
Data centers are no longer just server farms; they are becoming the manufacturing plants of the modern economy
– producing intelligence, technological advancements, and unlimited opportunity for advancing society.
The global race is on to capture this potential. Winning the race in a way that ensures we steer the power of AI toward the noble goals of society will only be possible by unleashing the demand for American energy that will be required to power rapidly evolving AI systems.
Recently in New Albany, Williamsstood alongside elected officials and community leaders to highlight what is possible when industry, technology, and local communities align to solve the challenge of meeting this demand.
Working alongside our customer Meta, nearly a dozen American companies, and thousands of Ohio workers, we delivered a utility-scale power plant, Socrates, in under 14 months – a project timeline that has historically taken six to eight years.
Socrates supportslong-term economic growth and energy reliability, creating more than 6,300 statewide construction jobs, generating nearly $640 million in wages and benefits for Ohio workers, and contributing more than $53 million in state and local tax revenue during construction, with nearly $120 million more in long-term local revenue.
We are creating a pipeline for the future
Speed and power, however, mean little without responsibility. The rapid growth of data centers has raised fair questions among Ohio families: Will this surge in energy demand strain our electric grid? Will it drive up local utility bills?
By sourcing natural gas directly from eastern Ohio producers and generating power on-site, we are supplying baseload energy without touching the public grid. This insulates Ohio households from rate spikes, secures regional grid reliability, and ensures that Ohio families and businesses are protected.
Importantly, building energy infrastructure is also about investing in people and communities.
Alongside Socrates, Williams is committing $10 million toward research, technical training, and career pathways in central Ohio. For too long, young people raised in the Midwest felt forced to look toward the coasts for high-tech jobs and engineering careers. We want kids growing up in central Ohio to find their opportunity at home.
Partnering directly with local K-12 programs, technical schools, and higher education institutions, we are creating direct pipelines for local students and workers to gain high-demand skills.
These aren't just jobs; they are high-paying, lifelong careers in energy and technology that offer real purpose.
Socrates was built by Ohioans, and we believe this critical infrastructure should also be serviced and maintained by Ohioans.
So, in addition to our $10 million commitment, Williams, alongside our partners at Caterpillar and Solar Turbines, is establishing a new Power Innovation and Reliability Center in central Ohio. This facility will house state-of-the-art equipment and become a hub where an advanced local workforce will optimize and maintain the complex energy systems that will power tomorrow’s economy.
America cannot afford to lose the future of technology and opportunity due to an energy bottleneck, and we cannot build the future without lifting our communities along the way.
Central Ohio is proving that we can power the next generation of technology, keep energy prices low, and ensure Ohio’s best and brightest don't have to leave home to change the world.
Chad Zamarin became president and chief executive officer of Williams in July 2025. Zamarin serves on the Department of Transportation’s Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee, the National Petroleum Council and the board of the American Petroleum Institute, and is a member of the Business Roundtable.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Data centers not just server farms. AI is being used for noble goals, Ohio's future | Opinion
