As of August 15, 2026, this tracker documents 25 local government actions on data centers in Kentucky, across 25 jurisdictions in 18 counties: 23 moratoria and 2 zoning exclusions. By status: 15 in force, 5 enacted, 3 pending, 1 replaced, and 1 expired.
There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for Kentucky in this snapshot.
Data centers in Kentucky used about 1.5 TWh of electricity in 2024; EPRI, Powering Intelligence 2026 (state-level dashboard) projects 3.7 TWh in its 2030, EPRI medium scenario.
Local actions in Kentucky
| Jurisdiction | County | Action | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullitt County | Bullitt County | Moratorium | in force | July 21, 2026 |
| Cave City Council | Barren County | Moratorium | in force | July 20, 2026 |
| Burgin City Council | Mercer County | Moratorium | pending | July 9, 2026 |
| Nelson County | Nelson County | Moratorium | in force | July 7, 2026 |
| Bell County | Bell County | Moratorium | in force | July 2, 2026 |
| Butler County Fiscal Court | Butler County | Moratorium | enacted | June 30, 2026 |
| Versailles | Woodford County | Moratorium | in force | June 16, 2026 |
| Boyle County | Boyle County | Moratorium | in force | June 9, 2026 |
| Lexington-Fayette | Fayette County | Moratorium | in force | June 9, 2026 |
| Edmonson County | Edmonson County | Moratorium | in force | June 8, 2026 |
| Lexington-Fayette Urban County | Fayette County | Moratorium | in force | June 8, 2026 |
| Boyd County | Boyd County | Moratorium | enacted | June 2, 2026 |
| Daviess County | Daviess County | Moratorium | in force | May 28, 2026 |
| Cave City | Barren County | Moratorium | in force | May 21, 2026 |
| Louisville Metro Council | Jefferson County | Moratorium | pending | May 11, 2026 |
| Mason County | Mason County | Zoning exclusion | enacted | March 27, 2026 |
| Ashland | Boyd County | Moratorium | replaced | February 26, 2026 |
| Mercer County | Mercer County | Moratorium | enacted | February 19, 2026 |
| Hancock County | Hancock County | Zoning exclusion | in force | February 2, 2026 |
| Meade County | Meade County | Moratorium | enacted | January 13, 2026 |
| Meade County Fiscal Court | Meade County | Moratorium | in force | January 13, 2026 |
| Breckinridge County | Breckinridge County | Moratorium | in force | December 5, 2025 |
| Oldham County Fiscal Court | Oldham County | Moratorium | in force | June 26, 2025 |
| La Grange | Oldham County | Moratorium | expired | June 2, 2025 |
| Mercer County Fiscal Court | Mercer County | Moratorium | pending | undated |
Blocked or delayed projects in Kentucky
| Project | Jurisdiction | Developer | Outcome | Decision | Claimed capex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldham County campus (Project Lincoln) | Oldham County, KY | Western Hospitality Partners | died | July 1, 2025 | $6B |
- Oldham County campus (Project Lincoln): WHP scrapped its original $6B/600MW Highway 53 proposal in June 2025 in favor of a smaller $1.5B/100MW plan at the Sauerbeck drive-in site, then withdrew that too on July 3, 2025, two days after the fiscal court passed a 150-day moratorium (July 1, 2025) that stripped an exemption for WHP's pending application, saying the project will not proceed. Anti-data-center candidates prevailed in the 2026 county primaries and permanent county regulations went from planning and zoning to the fiscal court June 23, 2026; no relocation of the project is documented.
What one campus pays a local government
The parent piece's calculator puts a single large campus at $2M to $90M a year in local revenue, depending on the tax regime and abatements. The reference campus (Project Blue scale: $3.6B of capital, 286 MW) pays about $157M to local governments over 10 years. Permanent jobs run around 50 per facility.
| Tax regime | Reference case | Annual local revenue, low | Annual local revenue, high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressive abatement | Morrow County OR (enterprise zone) | $2M | $3M |
| Partial abatement | Georgia audit representative campus / El Paso Meta | $27.8M | $56M |
| Unabated equipment tax | Virginia-style rates (Loudoun is the ceiling) | $50M | $90M |
Run your own numbers in the calculator on the parent piece. Jurisdictions in Kentucky that say no give up this revenue, not the jobs.