Data centers in Oldham County, Kentucky: 2 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Oldham County turned away the largest economic-development project ever proposed in Kentucky, then spent months writing rules meant to control the next one. In March 2025, Western Hospitality Partners announced "Project Lincoln," an eight-building, 600-megawatt data center campus on 267 acres of farmland north of La Grange, about ten times the power the whole county uses. The company promised $6 billion in investment and $51 million a year in local taxes.

Neighbors organized fast: Nate Oberg, whose home borders the site, formed We Are Oldham County, which grew to thousands of members. "The last of the eight buildings would be right in front of us here, about 300 feet," Oberg said. State Sen. Lindsey Tichenor called the plan "a way to abuse the system and prey on a community that's not prepared for hyperscale data centers." In June 2025 the company withdrew and refiled a smaller, roughly $1.5 billion version five miles south, at an industrial site between a railroad and Interstate 71. The fiscal court passed a 150-day moratorium on July 1 with no exemption for pending projects, and on July 3 the company withdrew from Oldham County entirely.

Writing permanent rules has taken longer than the fight itself. The planning commission sent proposed regulations to the fiscal court in October 2025, and by June 2026 had returned a draft allowing data centers of 100,000 square feet or 50 megawatts in heavy-industrial and industrial-park zones, with setbacks of 1,000 feet from homes and 1,500 feet from schools. As of the county's most recent public reporting, the fiscal court was still working through the rules, with no final vote yet on record.

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.