A hyperscale data center developer is suing to build next to KY’s only national park

Kentucky Industrial Alliance Inc. has initiated two separate lawsuits against Cave City, Kentucky, challenging a yearlong data center moratorium enacted in May and the 2024 ordinance that annexed its 600-acre property. The company aims to construct a $4.8 billion, 1.2-gigawatt hyperscale data center, dubbed Cave Point Commerce Center, near Mammoth Cave National Park, which it claims could bring significant tax revenue and jobs.

The project faces considerable opposition, particularly from Cave City councilwoman Leticia Cline and local residents like Angie Dawn Herald, due to its proximity to the biodiverse national park. Critics raise concerns about the data center's immense power consumption, reliance on large cooling systems that consume millions of gallons of water, and potential environmental impacts such as increased sinkhole activity in the fragile karst landscape. The company plans to power half the facility with an off-grid natural gas plant, with the remainder coming from a local electric cooperative.

Kentucky Industrial Alliance asserts that the city violated statutory procedures in passing the moratorium and in annexing the property, seeking to have the annexation reversed to place its development outside city jurisdiction. The legal battle is seen as a potential bellwether for Kentucky communities grappling with a surge in proposed data centers. Cave City officials, including Cline, believe their actions to pause development were justified to allow for community input and thorough scrutiny of such a large-scale project.