Lexington Puts Data Centers On Hold

Lexington’s proposed restrictions have become more specific and potentially more consequential, adding a 25-megawatt cap and detailed buffers while DartPoints’ roughly 70-megawatt expansion remains stalled.

Lexington’s response has hardened from a proposed restriction into an active moratorium and recommended zoning overhaul, while the broader Kentucky story now includes additional jurisdictions adopting or considering similar controls. The dispute has also sharpened around litigation and contested large-scale projects, especially near Maysville.

The story now includes a new, much larger project outside Lexington and Louisville: a proposed hyperscale data center near Maysville that has won county zoning approval but faces organized resident opposition and a legal challenge. This expands the debate from local moratoriums and zoning limits to an active siting fight over a specific large-scale facility.

• A proposed 2.2-gigawatt project near Maysville received county zoning approval.
• Residents and We Are Mason County are challenging the Maysville project.
• The project faces a legal challenge after local approval.
• Concerns now include displacement and farmland conversion.
• Lexington’s moratorium is paired with a zoning amendment proposal.

Lexington's response has become more concrete and restrictive, with an active moratorium now holding up DartPoints' former Lexmark redevelopment while officials weigh a countywide size ban. Louisville has also sharpened its stance, moving toward explicit hyperscale limits and industrial-only siting.

• Lexington moratorium now runs through at least October 31.
• DartPoints' former Lexmark redevelopment is on hold.
• Louisville staff recommend banning hyperscale centers above 500,000 square feet.
• Bowling Green adopted data center siting rules on June 16, 2026.
• Kentucky Alliance filed a lawsuit challenging Cave City's moratorium.

The story has broadened from Kentucky communities reacting unevenly to hyperscale proposals into a more concrete regulatory push, with Lexington and Louisville now drafting detailed limits on size, setbacks, noise, generators, water use, and utility impacts. It also adds a parallel regulatory example from Kent County, Delaware, showing formal siting controls as an alternative to outright bans.

• Lexington is advancing a near-ban on large data centers.
• Louisville is drafting hyperscale setbacks and generator operating limits.
• Kent County, Delaware, adopted formal data center siting rules.
• Lexington's moratorium runs through October 31, 2026.

The biggest shift is procedural: Lexington has now formally imposed a moratorium, while Louisville’s project continues under earlier approvals as officials draft new rules. The story also tightens around emerging statewide oversight and sharper disclosure demands on costs, water use, and ratepayer exposure.

The story has broadened from mostly local zoning fights into a more clearly split statewide landscape: some jurisdictions are now actively enabling or advancing major projects while others tighten restrictions or pursue moratoriums. The biggest new development is the emergence of concrete project scale and utility scrutiny in Louisville and Hancock County, alongside stronger demands for disclosure of power, water, and cost impacts.

• Louisville is reviewing new limits while a 400-megawatt project advances.
• Dartpoint bought a former Lexmark property in Lexington.
• Mason County rezoned more than 2,000 acres for development.
• Hancock County project is tied to a 20-year Anthropic lease.
• Disclosure demands now include power, infrastructure, water, jobs, and tax revenue.

The story has expanded from Lexington’s zoning fight into a broader Kentucky-wide wave of data center regulation and local project approvals. What was mainly a single-city moratorium and drafting effort is now a multi-jurisdiction response that includes new moratoriums, code amendments, and at least one large campus moving ahead.

• Bowling Green is advancing targeted zoning controls for data centers.
• Multiple Kentucky jurisdictions adopted or considered moratoriums and study pauses.
• Mason County rezoned land for a large data center campus.
• Hancock County plans a phased AI infrastructure project with Anthropic and TeraWulf.
• Utility and road cost allocation is now a central policy condition.

Lexington’s data center response has moved from a general review into a concrete zoning rewrite with specific proposed limits. The latest version adds clearer enforcement details, especially a size cutoff, siting buffers, and generator restrictions, alongside a set hearing date and moratorium deadline.

• Staff are drafting ordinance language for data center zoning.
• Proposed 50,000-square-foot cutoff for major data centers.
• Draft buffers from homes, farms, schools, and daycare centers.
• Restrictions on generator use are part of the draft rules.
• Public hearing set for July 30; moratorium extends to October 31.

Lexington is actively reviewing whether and how to regulate data centers after a private property purchase by DartPoints triggered a citywide response. Residents, council members, and advocates are pressing for stronger limits, citing concerns about energy use, water, heat, emergency readiness, and neighborhood impacts. The city has already adopted a temporary moratorium while planning and zoning changes move forward.