This Central KY county is the latest to have heated data center debate
Residents of a Central Kentucky county are now among a growing list of those across the Bluegrass State largely opposed to data center development in their communities.
A more than 550-acre piece of private land — equivalent to the size of about 420 football fields — in part of the county’s unincorporated land near Burgin and the E.W. Brown Generating Station operated by Kentucky Utilities is being marketed as a potential site for a data center.
No plans or rezoning requests have been submitted to local officials who said they are trying to decide how to best set a regulatory framework for data centers and other related projects in the area.
On Wednesday, the Mercer County Joint Planning & Zoning Commission held a special meeting for a work session on data centers with a public comment period. The meeting was one of the first public-facing discussions the county’s had on the subject.
In an emailed statement, Harrodsburg Mercer County Industrial Development Authority Executive Director Greyson Evans said the group was “aware of and tracking the marketing efforts of a private landowner” that has “secured the services of an industrial real estate broker to aid in marketing the site, with a target industry of hyperscale data centers.”
Evans said the county’s planning and zoning commission has not received rezoning requests, site plans or building permits for a data center. The commission did, Evans said, employ Parkway Strategies to help understand the situation and learn about data centers. The consulting firm presented at the Wednesday work session.
Online petition opposing data center begins to circulate
Ahead of the Feb. 18 meeting, an online petition began circulating opposing “a proposed development that stands to threaten our way of life: the construction of a massive data center.” The petition, as of Feb. 20, has more than 2,100 signatures.
“While technological advancements are indispensable, this development could bring devastating consequences to our community,” the petition said, listing the project’s environmental impact could lead to higher utility prices and put a strain on local resources. “... Moreover, the proposed site for this data center is on prime agricultural land, land that has been farmed for generations.”
A Facebook group called “We Are Mercer County” was created at the end of January and has more than 900 members. The group is now private, but is “focused on local government transparency, civic engagement, and informed discussion about issues affecting Mercer County.”
“... We are realistic about the necessity for economic development but believe it should not come at the expense of our community’s core values and essential resources,” the petition continues. “There are alternatives, such as utilizing already developed areas or brownfields, which would minimize environmental damage and preserve our cherished rural landscapes.”
Mercer County farmland for sale
About 550 acres of Mercer County farmland has been advertised for at least six months by JLL, a Chicago-based global commercial real estate and property investment company.
Data centers are large facilities that store servers, information technology infrastructure and can distribute data. They typically use large amounts of energy and water to power servers and cool them down.
“New data center development potential with power infrastructure in place,” a LinkedIn post from JLL Senior Managing Director Sean Reynolds said.
Reynolds and another contact listed on marketing materials for the Mercer County property did not immediately respond to the Herald-Leader’s requests for comment.
Two natural gas power plants, utility price increases
Last October, the state agency responsible for regulating utilities said Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas & Electric could spend $3 billion on two natural gas power plants. One of those plants will be at KU’s E.W. Brown Generating Station in Mercer County, just northwest of the property JLL is advertising. The facilities are meant to support an influx of high-energy demand customers — namely data centers — the companies anticipate needing to support in the next five years.
One day before the Mercer County work session, the same agency — the Public Service Commission — agreed that KU and LG&E could raise rates for the first time since 2020. The rate increases are less than what was proposed and less than the those that have been in effect on an interim basis since Jan. 1.
KU will charge customers more than 6.5%, meaning the average residential electricity customer will pay about $8.73 more. LG&E will increase power rates 4.7% and gas rates 11%, leaving customers to pay $5.14 and $8.27 more for those respective utilities.
The power companies said throughout the process to approve the increase the additional revenue was needed to cover the cost of infrastructure upgrades and to address rising operational costs, including those associated with severe weather.
Data center regulation in Kentucky
Regulating data centers was identified as a priority among the General Assembly’s GOP majority over the interim and at the start of this year’s legislative session, though several bills introduced to do so have yet to be assigned committee hearings.
Already, several companies have been trying to get in on statewide incentives passed last year, and legislators are eager to capitalize on the economic potential of data centers and the artificial intelligence they may house.
“We understand that our community is a very likely target for this kind of corporate investment, due to vast generation capabilities at EW Brown, high voltage transmission, and approvals from the PSC for major generation expansion here over the next few years,” Evans said. “This is why we believe that it is necessary for our community to develop a responsible regulatory framework as soon as possible.”
Just one data center is being built in Kentucky in the South Louisville area, but the user of it has yet to be announced.
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