Kentucky
Active Bans / MoratoriumsKentucky has no statewide data center moratorium and continues to court large projects, but its largest city has now paused new development. Louisville Metro Council voted 24-1 on August 13, 2026 to adopt a six-month moratorium blocking planners from approving new data center proposals until the council adopts comprehensive zoning rules, after the Planning and Zoning Committee advanced it 7-1 on August 4. Protesters at the vote pressed for a full year. The pause is meant to give the council time to study energy and water demand, infrastructure needs, tax implications and neighborhood noise; on August 20 the Louisville Planning Commission moved to strengthen the underlying restrictions. Nicholasville passed its own six-month moratorium on August 11, with residents citing electric bills, property taxes and water. Local restriction now spans a dozen Kentucky jurisdictions. Separately, a planned Paducah campus has been caught up in a proposed federal ban on AI data centers on certain federal land. The wave continued into September 2026: Rowan County's Fiscal Court approved a two-year moratorium on large-scale data centers (the county lacks zoning and will study a conditional-use process), and Winchester's commissioners unanimously passed a one-year moratorium within city limits. On September 14, 2026 Woodford County's fiscal court unanimously approved a permanent ban on data center construction — reported as the first Kentucky county to permanently ban data centers. In late September 2026, Mercer County's fiscal court unanimously rejected proposed hyperscale zoning regulations near the E.W. Brown Generating Station (its one-year moratorium remains in effect), Scott County extended its moratorium, and Georgetown's City Council voted unanimously on September 30 to direct counsel to draft a ban on hyperscale 'mega' facilities. Lexington's Urban County Council pause on data center permits, development plans and zone changes (enacted June 9, 2026) runs through October 31, 2026, with an extension receiving first reading on October 8, 2026 and draft zoning rules out for public comment. In October 2026 Lexington's Urban County Council extended the moratorium through October 2027 and unanimously adopted a zoning text amendment banning data centers over 50,000 square feet, capping energy use at 25 MW and limiting noise. Separately, on October 13, 2026 Mason County's Fiscal Court voted unanimously to approve a development contract for an approximately $15 billion Meta hyperscale campus (about 2,000 construction and 400 permanent jobs), with work required to begin within three years.
Local Actions
Fiscal Court voted 4-2 to pass a 150-day moratorium on data center applications. Extended indefinitely until new regulations are approved. Triggered by a $6B, 600MW proposal that was later withdrawn.
Fiscal Court approved a six-month moratorium on data center applications as a proactive measure, despite no expressed developer interest. In late September 2026 the Fiscal Court extended the moratorium.
Fiscal Court adopted countywide moratorium on new data center and large-scale IT infrastructure facility applications. Also rejected a rezoning proposal for a 138-acre data center site.
Fiscal Court restricted data storage centers to Heavy Industrial (I-2) zones only, requiring conditional use permits. Developer TenKey LandCo sued to overturn the ordinance.
Councilmember filed ordinance proposing a 6-month moratorium on data center approvals. Tabled indefinitely and expired without action in March 2026.
180-day moratorium passed by Board of Commissioners
A one-year moratorium on data centers took effect in August 2026 after the Fiscal Court's July 29 first reading and August second reading. On September 28, 2026 the Fiscal Court unanimously rejected proposed zoning regulations that would have created an 'industrial technology' district for hyperscale data centers near the E.W. Brown Generating Station, sending the regulations back to the planning commission; the moratorium remains in effect.
A standing-room-only public forum on July 29, 2026 drew near-unanimous resident opposition, with essentially every hand in the room raised against future data centers. Judge-Executive Jason Marshall said he would ask the fiscal court for a long-term moratorium to allow the county time to study infrastructure, farmland, utility and emergency-service impacts; the vote was scheduled for August 11, 2026. There are no current data center proposals or agreements in the county.
Fiscal Court unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on new data centers and data storage facilities at a special meeting on July 9, 2026, without discussion. The ordinance exempts the EastPark Industrial Park, leaving TeraWulf's planned Muskie Data Campus unaffected.
Metro Council voted 24-1 for a six-month moratorium barring planners from approving new data center proposals until the council adopts comprehensive zoning rules. Advanced 7-1 out of the Planning and Zoning Committee on August 4, 2026.
City passed a six-month moratorium on data centers as residents sought time to understand impacts on electric bills, property taxes and water.
Fiscal Court approved a two-year moratorium on large-scale data centers in early September 2026; the county has no zoning regulations and plans to consider a conditional-use review process during the pause. No projects have been proposed.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data center development within city limits in early September 2026, citing a lack of specific zoning rules and unresolved questions about utilities, rates and the environment; the rest of Clark County is not covered.
The fiscal court unanimously approved a permanent ban on data center construction (reported September 14, 2026), alongside restrictions on landfills and battery storage — described as the first Kentucky county to permanently ban data centers.
City Council voted unanimously on September 30, 2026 to direct legal counsel to draft an ordinance banning 'mega' hyperscale data center facilities (excluding smaller operations); the ban requires Planning & Zoning Commission approval before taking effect. Neighboring Scott County extended its own moratorium the prior week.
Urban County Council passed its pause on data center permits, development plans and zone changes on June 9, 2026, and on October 8, 2026 voted to extend the moratorium through October 2027. The council also unanimously passed a zoning ordinance text amendment banning data centers over 50,000 square feet, capping energy use at 25 megawatts, limiting noise and requiring community-impact zoning plans, and asked the planning commission to create a separate 'exclusive use' zoning category for smaller data centers. The debate followed DartPoints' purchase of an 81,000-square-foot property off New Circle Road described as drawing up to 70 MW.