On Wednesday, Rep. Keturah Herron, and Sens. Cassie Chambers Armstrong and Gary Clemons — all Democrats —- are inviting the public to not only voice their thoughts, questions, and concerns about hyperscale data centers. They're also inviting constituents to hear from a representative with the Kentucky Resources Council, who will address utility impacts, environmental concerns, transparency, and potential safeguards.
Several Kentucky communities including Lexington have placed moratoriums on data center development as they weigh what kind of posture to take regarding the controversial projects.
Patience Martin with the left-leaning Kentucky Center for Economic Policy says it's fast becoming a question communities big and small are having to answer.
"While most existing data centers that we see are in cities, largely planned construction for these new data centers are in rural areas," she said in a video post. "Companies are looking for places with limited regulation, limited oversight, abundant land, and preferably preexisting infrastructure that they need."
Lexington's pause on data center applications lasts through October.
Gov. Andy Beshear has vowed to stop any projects that could hand power costs on to ratepayers, but the tools at his disposal to back up that promise are not set in law. A bill that would have formally protected ratepayers failed to get a vote in the 2026 legislative session.
The Kentucky-wide data center discussion is Wednesday, July 8, at the South Central Regional Library in Louisville.