Kentucky Residents Protest Data Center Development by Playing Facility Noise at Fiscal Court Meeting
Residents in Carroll County, Kentucky, protested proposed data center development by playing recorded data center noise during a fiscal court meeting. The recording was made outside a 5-megawatt data center in Florence, where residents cited concerns about noise and the effects of building multiple hyperscale facilities near a small community.
Carroll County, Kentucky, residents disrupted a fiscal court meeting by playing a recording of the high-pitched noise produced by a data center. Laura Beth Austin and April Elwood said they recorded the sound outside a 5-megawatt facility in Florence and wanted local officials to experience what residents may have to endure.
The protest targeted plans for data center development that could eventually cover more than 1,000 acres and include two hyperscale facilities in a community of fewer than 12,000 people. Magistrate Scott Nab said the county had shifted from an agricultural economy toward industry and described data centers as a new type of industry, while residents continued to object to the noise and broader environmental impacts associated with the projects.