HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – While the development of large-scale data centers is becoming more prominent across the United States, officials throughout Kentucky recently discussed best practices around the possibilities of these developments.
Christian County Judge Executive Jerry Gilliam stressed that while there is interest in other parts of the commonwealth, there have not been any formal inquiries for data centers to develop in Christian County.
“There’s quite a bit of conversation about data centers as they’re starting to pop up,” said Gilliam during the Feb. 10 fiscal court meeting. He shared that he attended the Kentucky Association of Counties conference where ideas were exchanged between officials to create a vision for the future.
Concerns about energy, finding the right fit
While he said discussions included topics like jail reform and AI usage, data centers were brought up. These centers are dedicated facilities that corporations use to store their digital data on physical hard drives. Gilliam told Christian County Now that during these talks, he learned that not all data centers have the capital to invest in the infrastructure required to run the facilities, such as electricity and water requirements.
Similarly, many centers do not generate job numbers that justify the electricity demand, which can make them less favorable developments.
“My goal is simply to ensure we are prepared for these inquiries and are asking the tough questions upfront. We have a strong inventory of sites for economic development, we just need to ensure that whatever project moves forward is a good fit for our community,” he said.
All officials at the conference were advised to ensure data center proposals were good fits for the community and were encouraged to seek out centers that were committed to generating their own power or use closed-loop water cooling systems.
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