Hyper-Scale Data Centers

Data centers are large facilities that house computer systems & their components. While the US has had data centers for decades, hyper-scaler data centers are the new concern. Hyper-scalers are MASSIVE and run on newer technologies.

We all deserve affordable electric bills, access to clean water, and a choice about which industries move into our communities.

Hyper-Scale Data Centers:

• Cause air, noise, and light pollution
• Use up to 25% of an area’s water supply to cool them
• Can raise our electric bills
• Create very few permanent, local jobs
• Use a massive amount of land, taking farmland out of production
• Can be used for surveilance to pinpoint people’s location and personal information

Ways to fight data center development:

At the local-level

At the local level, you can fight data center development by working with your friends and neighbors to pass a short-term or permanent ban (moratorium) on data centers in your town or county. Many communities are passing short- to medium-term moratoriums while they develop strict regulation to protect their land, health, water, and energy bills. You can find sample ordinances for communities with AND without a Planning and Zoning department from our allies at Kentucky Resources Council.

Want to learn more about organizing locally and get connected to other communities fighting data centers in Kentucky? Join an upcoming Data Center Organizing call hosted by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. 

At the state-level

Our legislators lured hyper-scale data center companies and developers here with hefty tax breaks but failed to set up any regulations to protect us. We need the legislature to get rid of the tax breaks for data centers and ensure that they pay their fair share. If data centers want to come to Kentucky than they need to do it without our tax money sweetening the deal! 

In 2025, HB 775 passed including language that provided statewide sales and use tax exemptions for data center projects, which could continue for as long as 50 years, depending on the project’s capital investment and location. In 2026, the legislature failed to pass any legislation that would protect Kentuckians by regulating data center development. Learn more and sign this petition asking to repeal HB 775.

Nuclear Energy

For the past several years many of our state legislators have been talking about new nuclear technology (sometimes called Small Modular Reactors, SMRs) and how it will be a great opportunity for Kentucky to meet future energy needs. 

This is a false solution and a distraction.

Supposed “new nuclear technology” is untested, unproven at scale, and has all of the same issues as “old” nuclear. It’s expensive, it takes 10+ years to be built, it has the same health impacts, and we still don’t know what to do with the waste. 

Now the legislature wants to invest billions of dollars of taxpayer money into pilot projects.

We can take that same money (OR WAY LESS) and invest it in energy efficiency, virtual power plants, and solar + batteries and lower our electric bills right now. We don’t need to pilot unproven technology, we have the technology we need right now that is safe, affordable, and quick. 

Learn more at our partner organization Kentucky Conservation Committee’s website.

Public Comment

The Public Service Commission has an open case (Case #2025-00186) to study the potential for nuclear power in Kentucky. There are several ways for public comment to shape this discussion. You can attend an in-person public comment meeting to share your thoughts, or submit a comment using the form below. 

Public Meetings

Each person who would like to speak will be given the opportunity to sign up and talk for a few minutes (prepare for 3-5 minutes). The Commissioners will listen but they will not answer questions or ask questions about your testimony. Oral comments will be entered into the formal record of the case.