HARRODSBURG, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Mercer County residents are pushing back against a proposed data center on prime farmland, as local government bodies take early steps to address the growing debate over data center development in Kentucky.
50 data center facilities are already in use across the commonwealth, and more are in the works.
Priscilla Harris has lived on Handy Pike since 1994, near the site of a proposed data center. She and other members of the community group "We Are Mercer County" have voiced concern about potential data center development for months.
Kentucky Data Centers: LEX News Special Coverage
Mercer County residents rally against proposed data center development
"If these data centers are gonna be built they need to be built in industrial sites," Harris said.
For Harris, that does not include the farmland near her home.
"We have to keep raising the questions and pushing against what we feel is an invasion of our very way of life," Harris said.
That sentiment has been building. At a public meeting covered in February, Ethan Kestler expressed frustration with local leadership.
"We've been betrayed almost by the people we've put in power," Kestler said.
This month, Burgin City Council voted 3 to 2 to advance an ordinance to annex land from the county in the area targeted by a developer proposing a data center.
Harris also showed LEX News the first reading of a proposed data center moratorium approved by Mercer County Fiscal Court Tuesday.
But for Harris, those steps do not go far enough.
"We're not satisfied that it's enough protection," Harris said.
She said the community is still looking for more from its elected officials.
"We're still looking for transparency and not sure we're getting enough of that," Harris said.
Ultimately, she's concerned that this development is being rushed without further research.
The group "We Are Mercer County" has received thousands of signatures on a petition opposing potential data center projects in the area.
That group is also expressing concern that the draft moratorium doesn't provide meaningful pause before permanent regulations are implemented. The motion's second reading is slated for August 11.
LEX News reached out to the Harrodsburg-Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission but no one was available for comment.
