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Data centers in Letcher County, Kentucky: 1 project mapped
In Letcher County, a coal county in eastern Kentucky, the data center idea is at the very beginning. The Appalachian Industrial Development Authority has signed a joint development agreement with Diversified Gas and Oil Corporation and a real estate company, Maverick Holdings, that could lead to the purchase of about 100 acres of the 260-acre Gateway Business Park near Jenkins, WYMT reported. The goal is a site that generates its own power on site for a high-energy user such as a data center. The park is served by a 69-kilovolt AEP Kentucky line and by natural gas through Kentucky Frontier Gas, DCD reported.
Colby Kirk, president of the regional development group One East Kentucky, said no company has been identified and the site has not been shown to be viable: "It is important to note this project is very early in the process of where it's at." He said on-site generation would avoid straining the grid or adding costs for residential ratepayers, and that a data center could restore tax base lost with the decline of coal, but that he would not support a project that overtaxed the area's water or wastewater systems.
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Opinion is divided. Some residents told WYMT they do not want a data center near their homes; others want to see what it could mean for jobs. The city of Jenkins posted that it was not involved in planning, though city officials sit on the development authority that approved the agreement. No local leader or resident would speak on camera, and the agreement itself had not been provided to WYMT.
What kind of power plant would be built, how much water a data center would use, and who the end user would be are all unknown; Kirk said "hundreds of things" could stop the project, and that public engagement would increase if it advances.
Data center projects on record in Letcher County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Jenkins1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jenkins KY Data Center (pre-proposal)Jenkins | Diversified Gas and Oil Corp. and Maverick Holdings (power station option holders; no data center tenant named) | Proposed, early stage | Not reported |
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