Data centers in Mercer County, Kentucky: 2 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Mercer County's data center fight centers on Burgin, a small city with no planning or zoning body. Panattoni Data Centers wants to build "Project Bluegrass" on about 950 acres of farmland there, and Kentucky Utilities says it is being developed in phases up to 1,300 megawatts of power, among the largest single power users proposed in the state. To make room for it, the Burgin city council voted 3-2 on July 9, 2026, at a packed special meeting where no public comment was taken and dozens were turned away, to advance an ordinance annexing more than 1,000 acres, roughly doubling the city.

Burgin canceled a planned second meeting on the ordinance, saying the first was "not legally accurate" because it had not yet had a required first reading. Harrodsburg, the county seat, which supplies Burgin's water, objected that it was not given the 14-day notice state law requires and said it had never discussed supplying water for a project this large. Records obtained by residents show school board member Ben Bradshaw, who works for utility LG&E and KU, told colleagues in June that Panattoni had applied for 1,300 megawatts and that tax revenue could reach hundreds of millions of dollars over 15 years for a district of about 500 students. "What it feels like to us is the local officials are going, 'We don't care what you think. More tax money,'" said Bethany Corea of We Are Mercer County.

On August 11 the Mercer County Fiscal Court passed a one-year moratorium on new data centers, and the county planning commission has advanced its own siting ordinance, but neither reaches land inside Burgin, which has none of its own. Panattoni says "Burgin residents should not be asked to subsidize the private infrastructure necessary to serve Project Bluegrass." Burgin's city council was scheduled to meet again on September 8, 2026; no result has been published since.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.