Data center could help lower cost of Kentucky Power cooling tower project, AG says

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman's office has filed a statement suggesting that a proposed TeraWulf data center near Ashland, Kentucky, could help mitigate the financial burden on Kentucky Power customers for a new cooling tower. Kentucky Power, co-owner of the Mitchell coal plant in West Virginia, is seeking state approval from the Public Service Commission (PSC) to replace a 55-year-old cooling tower, a project estimated at $191 million. The Attorney General argues that TeraWulf's planned 1-gigawatt data campus near Ashland, which would become one of Kentucky Power’s largest customers, could offset these costs, making the project less unpopular.

Separately, the PSC recently approved an electricity contract for TeraWulf's Hancock County data center project in Western Kentucky. This facility, known as the Justified Data Campus near Hawesville, will utilize an existing 482-megawatt connection from an idle aluminum smelter and is set to serve artificial intelligence company Anthropic under a 20-year agreement. TeraWulf has committed to curtailing electricity use during grid emergencies and has pledged not to pass on electricity costs to residential customers, while also promising lower water usage and air emissions compared to the former aluminum plant.

While the Hancock County project has advanced with PSC approval, TeraWulf's Eastern Kentucky facility near Ashland is in earlier stages, having already encountered significant community objections in initial public meetings. This opposition echoes past frustrations in the region, including two failed aluminum plant proposals and lingering resentment over Kentucky Power's prior decision to cease coal generation at the Big Sandy plant. The Mitchell cooling tower project, despite a $51 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, is projected to cost Kentucky Power customers an average of $3.64 per month, raising concerns about increasing utility bills.