Data centers eye idle industrial sites for massive power needs
Kentucky is seeing a trend of data center developers repurposing former industrial sites, particularly those with existing high-capacity electrical infrastructure. Mayor George Bray champions the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant for a hyperscale data center, while TeraWulf is developing a site in Hancock County. Local communities and an environmental attorney raise concerns about environmental impact, water usage, increased electricity costs for ratepayers, and zoning changes.
Kentucky is emerging as a target for hyperscale data center developers, who are increasingly eyeing the state's idled industrial sites for their existing high-capacity electrical infrastructure. Paducah Mayor George Bray highlights the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in McCracken County as an ideal location for a 1.8-gigawatt hyperscale data center, a project the U.S. Department of Energy announced will help meet the demands of the AI industry by utilizing the site's legacy power and water capabilities.
Further south, investor-owned TeraWulf acquired a former Century Aluminum smelter site in Hancock County to develop a 482-megawatt data center, which will be leased to AI company Anthropic. Other developers are exploring former coal mines in Bell County (before a temporary moratorium was enacted), an industrial park in Pikeville, and a former AK Steel mill in Boyd and Greenup counties for multi-gigawatt projects. In Mason County, the planning and zoning committee approved the rezoning of over 2,000 agricultural acres for a planned hyperscale data center, despite ongoing local opposition.
While economic development leaders like Mike Baker of the Hancock County Industrial Foundation and Colby Kirk of One East Kentucky see data centers as an opportunity to revitalize languishing sites and generate significant tax revenue, communities and environmental advocates express concerns. Residents in Lewisport, Hancock County, voiced strong objections to the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) regarding the TeraWulf project, citing worries about increased utility costs, potential pollution, and noise. Byron Gary, an attorney for the Kentucky Resources Council, cautioned that while repurposing industrial sites for data centers makes sense from a developer's perspective, the substantial transmission upgrades needed to support such massive energy demands could ultimately be socialized across all ratepayers, leading to higher electricity bills for everyone.