Kentucky Data Center Moratorium Tracker
Kentucky has 1 state-level data-center restriction in force. 45 city and county measures are tracked here, 40 of them in force. Every entry below links to its primary source: a legislature page, a governor's office, a local government, or the reporting of record.
State-level measures in Kentucky
Every statewide moratorium, pause, siting restriction, or tax-incentive rollback in Kentucky we can verify against a primary source. Strongest status first.
| Measure | Status | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Order 2026-494Data-center screening and permit-denial order | In force 2026-08 | Gov. Beshear's order requires developers to file an energy plan, directs the Energy and Environment Cabinet to deny permits for projects that would harm air, water, or natural resources, and bars the PSC from raising utility rates to recover data-center costs. | |
| HB 544Kentucky: Prohibits utilities from serving data centers with 100+ MW aggregate contract capacity unless the Public Service Commission approves a specific | Failed / vetoed 2026-02 | Kentucky: Prohibits utilities from serving data centers with 100+ MW aggregate contract capacity unless the Public Service Commission approves a specific tariff with minimum requirements including contract durations, early termination fees, load ramp terms, and financial assurances. Key concerns driving this action include ratepayer cost concerns. The outcome remains pending. Kentucky adjourned sine die Apr 15, 2026; HB 544 (Ratepayer Protection Act) did not pass and its data center language was stripped from SB 197 on the final day. | |
| HB 593Kentucky: HB 593 (Rep. Josh Bray, R) requires data centers to cover transmission and infrastructure costs, generate their own power or purchase on the open | Failed / vetoed 2026-02 | HB 593 (Rep. Josh Bray, R) requires data centers to cover transmission and infrastructure costs, generate their own power or purchase on the open market, with a $75,000 nonrefundable application fee. Unanimously passed the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee on Feb 26, 2026. A companion bill HB 544 (Reps. Adam Moore & William Lawrence) prohibits utilities from serving data centers with 100+ MW aggregate capacity without a PSC-approved specific tariff. As of late March 2026, HB 593 is advancing in the Senate. Both bills aim to ensure data center costs are not passed to ratepayers and tie tax breaks to compliance with local zoning. HB 593 passed the Kentucky House 90-8 but DIED in the Senate as the legislative session closed on April 15-16, 2026, without a floor vote. Sponsor Rep. Josh Bray indicated he will refile in the 2027 session. Bill died April 15-16, 2026 as the legislative session ended. HB 593 passed the House 90-8 but stalled in the Senate. An SB 197 revival attempt was stripped on the final day. |
City and county moratoria in Kentucky
Most of the movement is local, where a building pause or permit halt does not need a legislative session. 45 tracked measures in Kentucky, each with its source.
Where Kentucky stands
Across the whole tracker we hold 334 state-level measures in 49 states and 1253 city and county measures, against 1419 primary sources. Kentucky accounts for 3 of the state-level measures and 45 of the local ones.
By total measures on record it is #10 of the 50 states and DC carrying any tracked action, and #8 by city and county measures alone. Ranking is by count of sourced entries in this dataset, so it measures documented activity, not the size of the buildout.
Sources for Kentucky
43 citations behind the entries above. Each opens in a new tab.
- Statewide · Executive Order 2026-494 — Data-center screening and permit-denial order lpm.org →
- Statewide · HB 544 — Kentucky: Prohibits utilities from serving data centers with 100+ MW aggregate contract capacity unless the Public Service Commission approves a specific apps.legislature.ky.gov →
- Statewide · HB 593 — 2 separate measures, cited together lpm.org →
- Allen County — Local moratorium on data centers through June 10, 2028 wnky.com →
- Ashland — Six-month moratorium followed by conditional-use zoning limits dailyindependent.com →
- Bell County — Two-year data center moratorium wymt.com →
- Boone County — County moratorium on data centers through June 15, 2027 radiomom.org →
- Boyd County and 1 other locality — 2 separate measures, cited together fox56news.com →
- Boyle County — One-year data center moratorium boylecountyky.gov →
- Breckinridge County — One-year data center moratorium wkyufm.org →
- Bullitt County — One-year data center moratorium spectrumnews1.com →
- Butler County — County moratorium on data centers through June 26, 2027 wbko.com →
- Butler County Fiscal Court — Butler County Fiscal Court data center moratorium bgdailynews.com →
- Cave City — One-year data center moratorium datacenterdynamics.com →
- Cave City Council, KY — Cave City Council, KY data center moratorium bgdailynews.com →
- Clark County and 1 other locality — 2 separate measures, cited together winchestersun.com →
- Daviess County — 12-month data center moratorium 14news.com →
- Edmonson County — One-year moratorium (Ordinance EC26-18) wnky.com →
- Georgetown — City moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2026 wkyt.com →
- Jessamine County — 12-month moratorium on new data center development, first reading fox56news.com →
- Lexington (Fayette County) and 1 other locality — 2 separate measures, cited together lex18.com →
- Lexington-Fayette Urban County (no incentives for DartPoints + council moratorium), KY — Lexington-Fayette Urban County (no incentives for DartPoints + council moratorium), KY data center moratorium wkyt.com →
- Logan County — Local moratorium on data centers through July 30, 2027 wbko.com →
- London — Local moratorium on data centers through September 30, 2028 wkyt.com →
- Louisville-Jefferson County Metro — Six-month moratorium on new data centers lpm.org →
- Lyon County — Local moratorium on data centers for a stated term wpsdlocal6.com →
- Meade County — Temporary moratorium (Ordinance 2025-07) meadeky.gov →
- Mercer County — Local moratorium on data centers for a stated term wkms.org →
- Mercer County Fiscal Court — One-year moratorium on data center construction weku.org →
- Nelson County — One-year data center moratorium spectrumnews1.com →
- Nicholasville — Six-month data center moratorium wkyt.com →
- Oldham County and 1 other locality — 2 separate measures, cited together datacenterdynamics.com →
- Rowan County — Two-year moratorium on large-scale data centers wtvq.com →
- Russell — Six-month data center moratorium yahoo.com →
- Scott County — County moratorium on data centers through September 13, 2026 wkyt.com →
- Shelby County — County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2026 pmg-ky1.com →
- Versailles — Data center moratorium through end of 2026 lex18.com →
- Woodford County — Permanent countywide ban on data center construction wuky.org →
- Lexington — Temporary ban on data center construction yahoo.com →
- Burgin City Council (annexation for hyperscale data center) — Burgin City Council (annexation for hyperscale data center) data center moratorium (proposed) lpm.org →
- Louisville — Louisville's proposed data center regulations news.google.com →
- Louisville Metro Council (Councilwoman Chappell reintroduces moratorium on telecom hotels / data centers), KY — Louisville Metro Council (Councilwoman Chappell reintroduces moratorium on telecom hotels / data centers), KY data center moratorium (proposed) louisvilleky.gov →
- Bowling Green — Six-month data center moratorium (rejected 3-2) wkyufm.org →
What does bind large loads in Kentucky
A moratorium is only one way a data center gets stopped. The grid operator decides whether it can connect at all, and on what terms. Kentucky sits in 3 footprints.
LG&E/KU non-RTO since 2006 MISO exit (KY PSC-approved); East Kentucky Power Coop, Kentucky Power (AEP), and Duke Kentucky in PJM (Duke KY moved from MISO 1/1/2012); Big Rivers in MISO.
States next door
7 of the 7 states bordering Kentucky have at least one data-center measure on record. Restrictions tend to travel between neighbors, so this is usually where the next one comes from.
Data centers in Kentucky
The US Data Center Map identifies 61 facilities run by 22 operators in Kentucky, each one placed from primary sources and listed by city and by operator, with the measures on this page beside them.
Open the Kentucky data center map → · The US Data Center Map →
How to read this page
In force = a moratorium, siting restriction, or tax-incentive rollback that is currently enacted, by statute or executive order. Paused = a temporary hold on new incentives or applications. Proposed = introduced and still pending. Failed / vetoed = died in committee, was voted down, or was vetoed.
This page is generated from the same primary-sourced dataset as the national U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker and is re-checked on the same weekly cycle, whether or not anything changed. Legislative status changes quickly; it is informational, not legal advice. Spot something out of date in Kentucky? Tell us.
Companion references: the Data Center Grid Operator Watchlist for the interconnection and curtailment rules that bind here, the Data Center Water Tracker for water mandates, and the Data Center Delay Watchlist for named projects.
Why Kentucky is pushing back
The objections repeat from state to state: strain on the electric grid, water drawn for cooling, and the sense that a facility takes local resources without giving much back. SAVRN builds AI factories designed around those three objections: on-site power that does not lean on the public grid, direct-to-chip cooling that does not consume municipal water, and a training institute that puts local people to work inside the building.
See how a SAVRN factory works Talk to us about a Kentucky site