In their introduction to the community where they propose to build a 1 gigawatt data center, TeraWulf officials got off to an awkward start.
The audio system in the Boyd County High School gymnasium was so poor that attendees repeatedly shouted that they couldn’t hear.
Presenters put a slideshow on a very small screen few people beyond the first few rows of seats could easily see.
Those conditions made it more difficult to convince residents of a community that had heard big promises before, only to see them evaporate, that this time would be different.
Residents peppered the TeraWulf staff with questions about water and electricity consumption, air and noise pollution and tax revenue.
They pushed for more information and more transparency. Some local officials had known about the project for months, but agreed not to discuss the details publicly.
The Maryland-based company plans to start the first phase of operation at the 285-acre Muskie Data Center, near Interstate 64 west of Ashland, in 2028.
Company officials said they would train and hire local workers to build the facility. They said a closed-loop cooling system would minimize water consumption.
They said a connection to Kentucky Power would provide electricity from the grid and wouldn’t have an impact on residential customer rates.
Noise levels would be minimal, they said. Tax revenues would inject tens of millions of dollars into local public schools, they said.
For the most part, the audience listened politely, but skeptically. Northeast Kentucky has seen a decline in population and jobs as the result of the closure of a steel mill and the reduced importance of coal mining and transportation.
An aluminum smelter promised several years ago never materialized. Now, TeraWulf wants to build its data center on the same vacant site.
Ashley Wilmes is executive director of the Kentucky Resources Council. She said there’s no state or federal framework to address the regulation and siting of data centers in Kentucky.
“These data centers are regulated, if at all, under a patchwork of local ordinances and general state regulations that mostly predate the hyperscale boom,” she said.
The TeraWulf project is proposed for a site that already has the appropriate zoning. The company has not, however, applied for the permits it needs to operate. The public can weigh in on that process.
In the most recent legislative session, Kentucky lawmakers did not enact protections for communities where data centers are proposed.
Wilmes said supporters will try again next year.
Among other things, Wilmes said electricity customers should be protected from rising costs that may result from such operations. By 2031, TeraWulf’s data center could consume 1 gigawatt of electricity. That’s equivalent to the generation of some of the region’s largest power plants.
“So basically, facilities that consume a power plant's worth of electricity should get the same level of review that a merchant power plant gets, that's what our proposed bill does,” she said. “We didn't see it get off the ground this legislative session, but we're going to be pushing for legislation in 2027.”
Communities across the commonwealth, meanwhile, have taken steps to regulate data center development. Last week, Lexington enacted a temporary moratorium on data centers.
To hear more of the interview with Ashley Wilmes on data centers, listen to Eastern Standard on WEKU.
