Fayette County

Moratoriums and bans

1. June 9, 2026 Lexington-Fayette: Moratorium. The Urban County Council unanimously paused data center permits, development plans and zone changes, then on Oct. 8 voted 11-0 to extend the pause to Oct. 31, 2027. Text amendments removing data processing centers as a principal use were due for second reading Oct. 22; Spectrum reported a 50,000 sq ft and 25 MW cap. (Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Oct. 2026; Spectrum News 1, Oct. 13, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Oct. 8, 2026 DartPoints Lexington (former Lexmark building) · The council extended the moratorium 11-0 through Oct. 31, 2027, and advanced zoning changes. (Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Oct. 2026)
2. June 9, 2026 DartPoints Lexington (former Lexmark building) · Once the purchase was public, the council voted without dissent to pause data center development. (Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Oct. 2026; Spectrum News 1, Oct. 13, 2026)
3. June 9, 2026 Lexington-Fayette: Moratorium · The Urban County Council unanimously paused data center permits, development plans and zone changes, then on Oct. 8 voted 11-0 to extend the pause to Oct. 31, 2027. Text amendments removing data processing centers as a principal use were due for second reading Oct. 22; Spectrum reported a 50,000 sq ft and 25 MW cap. (Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Oct. 2026; Spectrum News 1, Oct. 13, 2026)

Statewide

Sales and use tax exemption: HB 8 (2024, Acts ch. 166, which became law without the governor's signature) created a qualified data center program run by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KRS 154.20-220 to 154.20-229) that exempts data center equipment, including servers, cooling, power systems and the electricity used, from sales and use tax. It first applied only in a consolidated local government of 500,000 or more people (Louisville) and required at least $450 million in capital investment within five years of preliminary approval ($150 million for a project organizer). Agreements may run up to 50 years for projects of $450 million or more, 25 years for smaller ones and 15 years for project organizers. Projects that replace existing Kentucky data centers, take other KRS Chapter 154 incentives or use the crypto-mining electricity exemption are excluded. No job minimum appears in the enacted text reviewed. (Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), April 12, 2024; Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), April 12, 2024) HB 775 (2025, Acts ch. 98, which became law without the governor's signature on March 27, 2025) opened the exemption statewide. It kept the $450 million minimum for counties of 100,000 people or more and set $100 million for counties of 50,000 to 100,000 and $25 million for counties of 50,000 or fewer. The bill record shows final passage 32-5 in the Senate and 61-23 on House concurrence; the Hancock Clarion noted that Hancock County falls in the $25 million tier. A Kentucky Center for Economic Policy analysis put the lost sales tax from four projects alone at $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion. Sen. Robby Mills said in August 2026 that lawmakers could shorten the life of the break. LPM reported that no data center had applied yet, while the Lantern, citing the Courier-Journal, reported that the cabinet had received application materials. (Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), March 27, 2025; Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), March 27, 2025; The Hancock Clarion, July 2026; Louisville Public Media, Aug. 20, 2026; Kentucky Lantern, Aug. 17, 2026) KEDFA agendas for March 26 and April 30, 2026 listed an update on the Kentucky Qualified Data Center Project Incentive Program under other business. The agenda pages checked for July 30, Aug. 27 and Sept. 24, 2026 list no data center project. The Lantern reported that KEDFA must approve the Mason County project's sales tax break at a meeting later in October, and the authority's posted schedule lists Oct. 29. (Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Sept. 24, 2026; Kentucky Lantern (via News From The States), Oct. 16, 2026) 2026 session: HB 593 (Rep. Josh Bray) would have required data centers to take utility service only under contracts that assign them the costs of serving them, set a nonrefundable application fee (reported as $75,000), and tied the state tax break to meeting local rules. It passed the House 90-8 on March 4, 2026 and was returned to the Senate Economic Development committee on March 31. Its language was added to SB 197 in a House committee and then removed on the last day of the session; SB 197 was enacted (Acts ch. 202) without it. HB 544 (Rep. Adam Moore, the Kentucky Ratepayer Protection Act) would have barred service to data centers over 100 MW without a PSC-approved tariff or contract assigning them new infrastructure costs; it stayed in committee. The Lantern reported in October 2026 that Bray and Moore are each preparing data center bills for the 2027 session. (Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), March 31, 2026; Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), April 27, 2026; Kentucky General Assembly (Legislative Research Commission), Feb. 10, 2026; WKU Public Radio (Kentucky Public Radio), April 15, 2026; Kentucky Lantern, Oct. 12, 2026) Executive Order 2026-494 (Gov. Andy Beshear, Aug. 6, 2026) requires data center developers to file an energy plan with the Energy and Environment Cabinet showing they can meet their power needs without adding costs for other ratepayers, tells the PSC not to let utilities raise other customers' rates to recover data center costs, and directs the cabinet to deny permits for data centers that would harm air, water or other natural resources. Developers must also commit to paying their full share of state and local taxes and to answering community questions openly. The order says local decisions on data centers are not affected. KACo reported that Senate President Robert Stivers criticized the order and said the framework belongs in legislation. (Office of the Governor of Kentucky, Aug. 6, 2026; Kentucky Association of Counties, Aug. 7, 2026) LG&E/KU large-load tariff: in rate cases 2025-00113 (KU) and 2025-00114 (LG&E), the PSC's Feb. 16, 2026 orders approved Rate EHLF (Extremely High Load Factor) on the settlement's terms. The settlement cut the minimum contract capacity from 100 MVA to 50 MVA and limited the rate to new customers, including those who split a load across smaller sites. Billing demand is at least 80% of maximum contract capacity, initial terms are at least 15 years, collateral is required, and every EHLF service agreement must be filed with the PSC. (Kentucky Public Service Commission, Feb. 16, 2026; Kentucky Public Service Commission, Feb. 16, 2026; WKU Public Radio (Kentucky Public Radio), April 15, 2026) LG&E/KU generation for data center load: in Case 2025-00045 (order of Oct. 28, 2025), the PSC let LG&E/KU build two gas combined-cycle units, Brown 12 and Mill Creek 6 (the second subject to monitoring tied to load growth), approved an SCR for Ghent 2 and denied the Cane Run battery. The approved settlement names at least 500 MW of signed EHLF service agreements by Mill Creek 6's 2031 in-service date as one measure for reviewing its cost recovery. EPIC reported that LG&E/KU told the PSC in March 2026 of 29 potential data center projects, 11 of them (about 3.5 GW) rated 50% or more likely. (Kentucky Public Service Commission, Oct. 28, 2025; Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission, June 2026) East Kentucky Power Cooperative: in Case 2025-00140 (order of Oct. 30, 2025), the PSC approved, with changes, a Data Center Power (Rate DCP) tariff for loads of 15 MW or more. Each project needs a PSC-approved special contract. Projects over 250 MW need one or more dedicated resources. The PSC removed the proposed cap on the application fee, which has a $75,000 minimum. EPIC reported that EKPC had 11 active data center projects seeking more than 10 GW. (Kentucky Public Service Commission, Oct. 30, 2025; Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission, June 2026) Kentucky Power (AEP): its tariff I.G.S., in effect March 1, 2026 under Case 2025-00257, sets terms for new customers with at least 150 MW of contract demand or existing customers adding 150 MW: 20-year contracts, five years' notice, billing demand of at least 90%, and collateral of 24 times the highest monthly non-fuel bill. Case 2026-00103 opened April 21, 2026 with the utility's notice that it would seek a certificate for a new in-state generating resource; at an Oct. 8 informal conference it told PSC staff the TeraWulf amendment had doubled the generation needed, and on Oct. 9 it moved to withdraw the notice and close the case. It said it would file a new case for a 760 MW combined-cycle unit (at Big Sandy, per its Oct. 5 release, with TeraWulf paying financing costs) targeted for March 31, 2031. (Kentucky Public Service Commission (Kentucky Power tariff on file), May 8, 2026; Kentucky Public Service Commission, Oct. 12, 2026; Kentucky Public Service Commission, Oct. 12, 2026; Kentucky Power (PR Newswire), Oct. 5, 2026) Context: EPIC (the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission, created by SB 349 in 2024) reported in June 2026 that projects were being weighed in 13 counties: Carroll, Clark, Gallatin, Hancock, Hardin, Jackson, Laurel, Madison, Marion, Mason, Meade, Oldham and Simpson. No named project was found for Clark, Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Laurel, Madison or Marion. (Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission, June 2026) Kentucky data centers →