HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Community members and representatives from Dark Horse Technologies shared their thoughts Monday night as Hopkinsville works to establish regulations for future data centers in the city.
Dark Horse Technologies has operated an existing cryptocurrency mining facility in Hopkinsville for about three years. The company is looking to transition that facility into an AI data center and is also planning a separate, larger data center at another location which would use up to 50 megawatts of power.
Noise, water concerns from Hopkinsville residents
During the public hearing hosted by Community and Development Services on Sept. 28, residents raised concerns to board members about where future data centers could be built, noise issues, water and electricity use, and possible impacts on utility bills. CDS will ultimately draft an ordinance outlining the regulations that will be approved by city council.
Several residents said they were glad the city was working on regulations but felt they should be stronger. A major concern was the location of the existing data center. Residents pointed out that while the property is zoned for industrial use, there are homes and churches nearby.
Noise was another concern. Some residents said they can already hear the existing facility and worry that more data center development could make the noise worse. Others questioned how future data centers could affect water and electricity use and whether utility bills could go up.
Some also asked the city to require more distance between data centers and nearby homes. At least two speakers asked officials to consider a two-year moratorium on data center development to allow more time to study the issue.
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Dark Horse Technologies speaks about future data center
Thomas Serro with Dark Horse Technologies spoke during the hearing and said the company supports establishing clear regulations for data centers. Serro said, “Hold us to clear rules. We pay our way, and we clean up after ourselves.”
He further clarified that the type of data center the company is proposing is different from the massive data center campuses being developed by some of the larger technology companies. He said Dark Horse’s largest proposal at a separate Hopkinsville site is 50 megawatts.
Serro also discussed the company’s plans for water use, saying they plan to use a closed-loop cooling system which reuses water rather than continuously drawing new water for cooling. He estimated a 15-megawatt site would use less than 100,000 gallons of water per year, with most of that amount going toward restrooms and sinks.
The company would provide its full water-use estimate before the proposal reaches the Hopkinsville City Council. On electricity, Serro said Dark Horse paid the construction costs associated with connecting its existing facility to the power system and has agreed to pay infrastructure costs for its new projects.
Proposed changes to regulations by company
The company’s attorney, Robert Ison, also spoke in support of regulations but said some parts of the current language should be changed. Ison said both the existing site and the location being considered for the new project are zoned I-2 heavy industrial. He said requirements covering cooling, power generation, lighting, and removing a facility after it closes are important.
However, Ison said some of the proposed regulations go too far. One concern is how the city would measure the size of a data center. Ison said it should be based on the size of the actual buildings, rather than including open space, cooling equipment, batteries and other equipment around them.
Ison also questioned a rule that would require data centers to get a conditional use permit, which is an extra approval needed before a property can be used for certain purposes. He said data centers that meet the city’s regulations should be allowed in industrial areas without needing that extra approval.
Dark Horse is prepared to pay for a new 65-megawatt substation, and 50 megawatts would be used by the proposed data center, leaving 15 megawatts of additional capacity. CDS will now draft an ordinance outlining proposed data center regulations, which will go before the Hopkinsville City Council for consideration.
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