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LOUISVILLE — Large, “hyperscale” data centers are expanding rapidly in the United States and unless people are willing to give up the internet, cloud computing, navigation systems — and yes, even Netflix — communities should be planning how to locate and regulate them.
That was the consensus of a Louisville Forum panel Wednesday that met to discuss the controversial but seemingly inevitable growth of the massive centers that one panelist described as “a warehouse full of computer equipment” powering a wide range of internet services.
“Data centers are increasingly important in our country and around the world because of our reliance on the internet, cloud computing, AI,” said Cliff Ashburner, a lawyer at the Dinsmore firm who has been involved in the only one currently underway in Kentucky.
The $11 billion center is under construction on Camp Ground Road in southwest Jefferson County.
“This is a thing that is happening and I believe that Kentucky should position itself and Louisville should position itself to take advantage of it and allow for data centers to locate in our state and our community,” Ashburner said.
The one-hour forum hosted by the nonpartisan public interest group included questions from the audience about the purpose and potential impact of data centers.
Such centers have been controversial because of their size, potential noise or pollution, the huge amounts of electricity they require and fears of possible rate increases by utility companies that must expand generating capacity to serve them.
But Rob Houchens, with We Are Oldham County, and a member of Wednesday’s panel, said he’s not opposed to data centers even though his group helped organize a successful fight to block a 1.7 million square foot center proposed last year in his county.
“It’s about location, location, location,” he said, adding the proposal developers eventually dropped was too near residential areas and not far enough off the main highway. Also, Oldham County lacked adequate regulations for such developments, which officials now are close to adopting, he said.
“That’s what we didn’t have in Oldham County,” he said, referring to pending regulations. “It caught us off guard.”
Houchens said he does not oppose a data center in Oldham County on a more suitable site.
As for electricity rate increases, panelist and utility executive John Bevington argued that’s unlikely in Kentucky.
Utilities are regulated by the state Public Service Commission and utility companies must justify plans for expansion and any rate increases, he said. And data centers would buy an enormous amount of electricity, bringing significant revenue to the power company, said Bevington, , a senior director of business and economic development for Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities.
“In the end, I think data centers could actually put downward pressure on rates,” Bevington said.
Power demand from data centers is straining supply for the nation’s largest power grid operator, PJM, as power rates have risen for consumers, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. PJM manages a 13-state grid that includes part of Eastern Kentucky.
Consumer advocates have warned that ratepayers could get stuck with higher bills if utilities expand capacity only to have data center plans fall through. Houchens noted that some states, including Ohio, have adopted consumer protections that add “tariffs” for data centers to make up the difference if they use less electricity than projected.
Houchens allowed that traffic, especially during the construction phase, and pollution, could affect communities. The pollution could come largely from enormous diesel generators data centers use onsite in the event of a power outage.
In that event, “You’re going to have a great number of diesel generators operating,” he said.
But data centers can generate important revenue including property taxes Houchens acknowledged he’d like to see for Oldham County schools.
In Louisville, the data center under construction will generate about $46 million a year for Jefferson County Public Schools, about $10 million for Metro Government and $12 million for the Pleasure Ridge Park fire department, Ashburner said.
Scheduled to open in 2026, it will create about 210 jobs — mostly internet technology and systems related — at an average salary of $112,000 a year, he said, adding most communities would view those jobs as “big wins.”
“They are very real and high-paying,” he said.
One question focused on tax incentives and whether Kentucky needs more to attract data centers. The GOP-dominated General Assembly in 2024 enacted tax breaks for centers seeking to locate in Jefferson County.
Houchens, of the Oldham County citizens group, said he doubts further tax breaks are necessary given the eagerness of developers to build data centers.
“There’s already an appetite to build them here,” he said. “I’m not sure we need any more incentives.”
As for the future of data centers in Louisville and Kentucky, panelists agreed more are likely — though mostly outside urban settings.
This article appears in Jan 1-31, 2026.