KY’s single largest data center under development near former Ashland steel mill

Rubix Data Centers, a UK-based data center broker, is proposing a $12 billion, 2-gigawatt data center campus on 500 acres of former AK Steel Ashland Works property near Ashland, Kentucky. This facility, which would be double the size of Kentucky's next largest planned data center (a 1-gigawatt project by TeraWulf Inc. in nearby Boyd County), has become a central point of debate for the region's economic future.

Russell Mayor Samuel Simpson confirmed he was approached by consultants in June about the project, shortly after the city council enacted a 180-day moratorium on data center development. The city is now facing pressure to lift this moratorium to allow Rubix to proceed with site work before its property option expires. However, Mayor Simpson clarified that lifting the moratorium would not greenlight construction, and significant concerns about noise, infrastructure, traffic, emergency services, and utility impacts remain.

Residents have voiced skepticism regarding the facility's enormous electricity and water demands, environmental impacts, and the relatively low number of permanent jobs compared to the promised incentives. The data center could consume as much energy as nearly 2 million homes and use up to 150,000 gallons of non-potable water daily, primarily from the Ohio River. Experts have also raised concerns about the capacity of Kentucky Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Inc. and part of the PJM Interconnection, which already faces supply shortages. The city of Russell is utilizing the moratorium period to gather information and educate itself on data center development, including retaining legal counsel.