Last year, Kentucky Utilities and LG&E told lawmakers at least 20 data center projects were in the pipeline as of last August — and now communities, including one in Mercer County, are being asked to grapple with the financial, ethical, and environmental questions surrounding them.
That's why Byron Gary, a program attorney at the resources council, told WLEX that his group put together model ordinances for data center regulation. Gary said local officials need to be on top of the issue.
"The earlier they can engage with their constituents the more open and honest the dialogue they can have with them, the better the process can work," he said.
Gov. Andy Beshear was also quizzed about data centers Tuesday and made this promise.
"I'm not going to let one come to Kentucky that would pass along the cost of energy to the people of that region. We are not going to do that," he said. "Any data center that wants to look at Kentucky is going to have to pay for 100% of its own energy and if it needs new means of production it needs to pay for those too."
But plenty of concerns still loom.
A bill that would have formally shielded ratepayers from being saddled with the costs of data centers failed to make it over the finish line at the end of the 2026 legislative session, and Beshear's term ends in December 2027.