Residents try to stop Data Centers from entering Carroll County in intense meeting
Residents disrupted a Carroll County Fiscal Court meeting while protesting plans for two hyperscale data centers. Officials are seeking community benefits agreements covering issues such as noise limits and setbacks before allowing the projects to move forward, but the agreements were tabled.
Residents Laura Beth Austin and April Elwood played recorded data-center noise during a Carroll County Fiscal Court meeting to protest two proposed hyperscale facilities. The sound was recorded at a 5-megawatt data center in Florence, Kentucky, and residents said they feared similar noise would affect their community.
DECA is planning a facility south of Gent near Route 47 and Sharon Road, while Poe Companies and PowerHouse Data Centers are planning another project near English in the Greensbottom area. DECA says its project could require 800 megawatts of electricity and cover as many as 1,000 acres, while promising $41 million in annual tax revenue and a one-time $5 million community contribution.
Because Carroll County has no planning and zoning body, the fiscal court is seeking community benefits agreements to establish conditions such as maximum noise levels and setbacks from homes. The agreements were tabled, leaving the timing of a future vote unclear, while residents continue opposing the developments.