LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Lexington community group is pushing back after the former Lexmark data center on New Circle Road was sold to DartPoints Operating Company, a Dallas-based business that operates nearly a dozen data centers nationwide.
The group "No Kentucky Data Centers" held a strategy meeting Monday evening to discuss how residents can unite to oppose future data center development.
Erin Petrey, who has a background in sustainability, addressed attendees at the town hall, framing data centers within a broader economic context.
"The data centers are essentially the engine of the internet, and they have been around for decades. And so data centers as a concept are not new," Petrey said.
Petrey also raised concerns about corporate accountability amid the growth of artificial intelligence.
"A lot of our investment markets are propped up and buoyed by the AI boom. So we need to make sure that we are holding the companies that are benefiting," she said. "These record breaking profits accountable and making sure that our communities and our planet and our people are not suffering because of those record profits."
Senator Reggie Thomas, who previously served on the Senate's AI Task Force, warned residents about the financial impact data centers can have on neighboring communities.
"What residents have seen is that neighbor data centers are a significant increase, sometimes 100% of their electricity bill," Thomas said.
Thomas also argued that any additional infrastructure costs should not fall on residents.
"One thing that needs to be fully explored is the fact that if there's gonna be additional cost to making sure that those data centers receive enough electricity. They've got to pay for it, not you," Thomas said.
Thomas called for a public vote before any new data center moves forward.
"We need to ensure that any new data center proposal is supported by the local public. That means that it needs to be voted on by the community," Thomas said.
One attendee raised concerns about noise and environmental impact.
"A 70-megawatt facility that emits enough noise to be heard for over one mile around. And that will destroy entire neighborhoods and their property values and local wildlife," the attendee said.
DartPoints says the future campus is intended to support 415 volts of power.
Community members were signing a petition at Zion Baptist Church, where the meeting was held. Around 90 signatures filled the pages at the event, with organizers saying they have collected around 5,500 total since last Thursday.
One attendee summed up the group's message.
"It's only together that we can come up with a credible vision of what a better future might look like," the attendee said.
Council Member Tyler Morton, who represents the district, says he is incorporating community feedback as he discusses data center issues with his colleagues. Residents can contact his office at (859) 280-8254.
