In brief
- A developer is suing Cave City, Kentucky, over a one-year moratorium on new data centers.
- The proposed $4.8 billion AI campus would be built near Mammoth Cave National Park.
- The case could become an early test of how much authority local governments have to block AI infrastructure projects.
The developer behind a proposed $4.8 billion AI data center near Mammoth Cave National Park is suing a Kentucky city after officials moved to halt the project, escalating a growing conflict between local governments and companies racing to build AI infrastructure.
According to a report by The Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky Industrial Alliance has filed two lawsuits against Cave City after officials approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers just days after the company submitted plans for a 600-acre, 1.2-gigawatt AI and cloud computing campus north of downtown. The developer is also challenging the city's 2024 annexation of the property, arguing the land should fall outside city limits, where the moratorium would not apply.
“I’m 100% against a data center being the identity of the entrance to Mammoth Cave,” Cave City councilwoman Leticia Cline told The Lexington Herald-Leader.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers across the country move to slow AI data center development. States including Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Virginia have considered or advanced moratoriums or other restrictions on new projects amid growing concerns over their impact on local communities and power grids.
Cave City officials say they needed time to evaluate developments of this scale. At the same time, the developer argues the city improperly blocked a project that promises billions of dollars in investment, hundreds of jobs, and millions in annual tax revenue.
The proposed campus has also drawn opposition because of its location near Mammoth Cave National Park. Residents and local officials have raised concerns about groundwater, sinkholes, power demand, and other environmental impacts in the region's karst landscape.
The proposed project also comes amid growing scrutiny of data centers near protected landscapes. In March, the National Parks Conservation Association warned that the industry's rapid expansion—led by a more than 500% increase in data center development in Virginia since 2015—underscores the need for stronger safeguards around national parks.
Kentucky Industrial Alliance disputes those concerns, saying the campus would use a closed-loop cooling system, create about 360 direct and indirect jobs, and generate millions of dollars in annual tax revenue.
“Every major project deserves thoughtful consideration based on accurate information and respectful discussion,” the company said in a statement.
The news comes as opposition to AI infrastructure spreads. Earlier this month, Georgia resident Ansley Brown said in an Instagram post that her family settled with Georgia Power after concluding they could no longer afford to fight the utility's acquisition of land for a transmission line expected to primarily serve AI data centers. Georgia Power says the project requires acquiring more than 300 parcels of land and that 70% to 80% of the electricity carried by the new line will supply data centers.