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Data centers in Simpson County, Kentucky: 1 project mapped
In Franklin, near the Tennessee line, a data center developer is pressing ahead despite objections from the city, the county and a room full of residents. TenKey LandCo owns more than 200 acres off Interstate 65 at Exit 2, on Steele Road, in the Gateway 65 industrial park, and wants to build three 200,000-square-foot data centers with their own natural gas turbines and batteries, off the grid. The end user has been described only as one of the largest tech companies in the world. TenKey says it has asked for no tax breaks and that residential and commercial electricity rates will not be affected.
Local government has fought it at every turn. Franklin's city council and planning commission unanimously rejected a zoning change TenKey sought in 2025, and in December the Simpson County Fiscal Court passed an ordinance requiring data centers and their power systems to be in heavy industrial zones with a conditional use permit. TenKey sued in January 2026, arguing the county cannot impose zoning inside city limits. Judge-Executive Mason Barnes, who refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement to learn the end user's name, said developers were looking for "these little Podunk communities where they think everybody's going to be ignorant or illiterate and just willing to accept everything they say is the gospel."
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In March the Franklin Planning and Zoning Commission, after tabling the vote twice and a tied vote to deny, unanimously approved TenKey's preliminary development plan with conditions, including monthly meetings and public reports. The hearing drew hours of raucous, expletive-laced comments, and some residents were escorted out. OTN Group, which owns Gateway 65, told a trade outlet the site is already zoned for data centers and the project is "effectively greenlit," with all remaining steps procedural.
TenKey must still obtain environmental permits and return with a final development plan, and board members said they needed more on stormwater, on-site power generation and regulation. TenKey's lawsuit against the county's zoning ordinance remains pending. TenKey's figures have varied: one report put the investment at $5 billion, at least 100 jobs and $17 million a year in local tax revenue, while a later company estimate put annual property tax at about $30 million.
Data center projects on record in Simpson County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Franklin1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TenKey LandCoFranklin | TenKey LandCo | Proposed | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Zoning limits on data centers
Rules short of a pause: setbacks, noise caps, permit requirements and district limits.
| Place | Type | Started | Ends | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simpson County | Zoning limits | Jan 7, 2026 | No end date | Record off site ↗ |
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.