Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky has expressed his frustration regarding a substantial data center contract, stating that the Trump administration caught him off guard with the announcement.
Beshear claimed that the White House, alongside the Department of Energy (DOE) and the entities financing the state’s data center initiatives, informed him about a $100 billion proposal. The DOE later stated that Beshear had been notified several times before the announcement, as reported by Politico.
A spokesperson for the DOE said, “The Department of Energy notified members of the Governor’s Office the week before the announcement and again the week of the announcement. This is standard practice.”
The planned data center will be situated on a 3,556-acre former uranium enrichment site in Paducah, Kentucky. The DOE mentioned that the project is expected to be completed by 2032, potentially generating 8,000 construction jobs, according to a press release from July 29.
In an interview with Politico, Beshear noted, “I wasn’t given any explanation about that. I was informed there would be an announcement regarding data centers, but the companies involved didn’t provide details on their plans, power requirements, or how they intended to address any environmental concerns.”
Neither Beshear’s office nor the two leading companies behind the project, NextEra Energy and Brookfield Asset Management, responded to inquiries from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced on July 30 that the project would herald $100 billion in private investment aimed at redeveloping city areas into a leading data center. Wright also highlighted a commitment from the developers to construct and finance a power plant for both the project and the surrounding community.
However, residents of Paducah voiced their worries about the costs associated with the energy project and its potential environmental ramifications. One local resident, Jackie Riley, expressed her concerns about the rising costs and their implications for both the environment and water resources.
