AI data center sites in Kentucky
92 Kentucky counties scored on transmission, the interconnection queue, power price and tax. Updated October 18, 2026.
Open a county for its queue requests, substations, plants and data centers.
| County | Score | Pipeline | Power price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 740 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 60 | 150 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 59 | 400 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 55 | 350 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 55 | 250 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 55 | 125 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 55 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 54 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 53 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 52 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 52 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 50 | 100 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 50 | 75 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 49 | 437 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 49 | 80 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 48 | 527 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 48 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 47 | 1.3 GW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 47 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 46 | 150 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 46 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 45 | 800 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 45 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 44 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 43 | 916 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 43 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 43 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 42 | 360 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 41 | 983 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 41 | 846 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 41 | 808 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 41 | 340 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 40 | 669 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 39 | 393 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 38 | 490 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 37 | 395 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 37 | 330 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 37 | 300 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 37 | 80 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | 200 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | 150 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | 139 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | 98 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | 42 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 36 | - | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 35 | 90 MW | 7.5¢/kWh | |
| 35 | 65 MW | 7.5¢/kWh |
Pipeline: active generation and storage requests in the ISO queue, or EIA planned plants where larger (outside the ISOs). Top kV: highest substation voltage. Power price: the state's industrial average. DCs: GPU colocation, mining sites and AI campuses.
What the data shows
The strongest Kentucky counties for a large AI load are Jefferson County (72), Lawrence County (60) and McCracken County (59) on the site score. Kentucky sits in PJM, utility territory and MISO; its ISO queues hold 17 GW of active generation and storage requests, 573 MW of them with a signed interconnection agreement, and it has 33 substations at 345 kV and up.
Industrial power averaged 7.5¢/kWh (EIA, July 2026 YTD), against 7.0¢/kWh a year earlier, the 10th lowest of the 50 states and DC. Kentucky has a data center sales and use tax exemption in force. We track 1 AI campus and 1 GPU-ready colocation facility here.
Top 6 counties in detail
1. Jefferson CountyUtility: LG&E and KU
Site score 72 of 100
- Transmission
- 20/25
- Generation pipeline
- 10/20
- Industrial power price
- 19/20
- Existing and retiring plants
- 13/15
- Sales tax exemption
- 10/10
- Data center activity
- 0/10
- Market
- Utility: LG&E and KU
- Queue (active)
- 0 MW
- Agreement signed
- 0 MW
- Planned plants (EIA)
- 740 MW
- Top substation
- 345 kV
- Substations 230 kV+
- 4
- Operating plants
- 2.5 GW
- Retired or retiring
- 390 MW
- Industrial power, KY
- 7.5¢/kWh
- Sales tax exemption
- Yes
Substations, 115 kV and up
- MIDDLETOWN · 10 lines345 kV
- CANE RUN SWITCHING · 10 lines345 kV
- MILL CREEK STATION · 6 lines345 kV
- CANE RUN · 6 lines345 kV
- CAMPGROUND · 6 lines161 kV
- PADDY'S RUN · 8 lines138 kV
- ASHBOTTOM · 6 lines138 kV
- BEARGRASS · 6 lines138 kV
Planned, retiring and retired plants
- Mill Creek (KY) · Gas, planned 2027740 MW
- Mill Creek (KY) · Coal, retired 2024356 MW
2. Lawrence CountyPJM
Site score 60 of 100
- Transmission
- 21/25
- Generation pipeline
- 3/20
- Industrial power price
- 19/20
- Existing and retiring plants
- 8/15
- Sales tax exemption
- 10/10
- Data center activity
- 0/10
- Market
- PJM
- Queue (active)
- 150 MW
- Agreement signed
- 0 MW
- Planned plants (EIA)
- 0 MW
- Top substation
- 765 kV
- Substations 230 kV+
- 3
- Operating plants
- 1.4 GW
- Retired or retiring
- 0 MW
- Industrial power, KY
- 7.5¢/kWh
- Sales tax exemption
- Yes
Largest queue requests
| Project | Point of interconnection | MW | Type | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busseyville 138 kVPJM AH2-249, in service 2027-12 | Busseyville 138 kV | 150 | Solar | In study |
Substations, 115 kV and up
- BAKER · 8 lines765 kV
- BIG SANDY · 8 lines345 kV
- BAKER · 2 lines345 kV
- BUSSEYVILLE · 2 lines138 kV
3. McCracken CountyUtility: Tennessee Valley Authority
Site score 59 of 100
- Transmission
- 17/25
- Generation pipeline
- 4/20
- Industrial power price
- 19/20
- Existing and retiring plants
- 8/15
- Sales tax exemption
- 10/10
- Data center activity
- 0/10
- Market
- Utility: Tennessee Valley Authority
- Queue (active)
- 0 MW
- Agreement signed
- 0 MW
- Planned plants (EIA)
- 400 MW
- Top substation
- 500 kV
- Substations 230 kV+
- 1
- Operating plants
- 1.7 GW
- Retired or retiring
- 0 MW
- Industrial power, KY
- 7.5¢/kWh
- Sales tax exemption
- Yes
Substations, 115 kV and up
- SHAWNEE · 16 lines500 kV
- C-33 (DOE) · 11 lines161 kV
- SHAWNEE · 9 lines161 kV
- C-33 (DOE) · 4 lines161 kV
- Unnamed · 4 lines161 kV
- Unnamed · 4 lines161 kV
- Unnamed · 3 lines161 kV
- Unnamed · 3 lines161 kV
Planned, retiring and retired plants
- Gage Solar · Solar, planned 2029200 MW
- Mayfield Solar and Storage · Solar, planned 2029200 MW
4. Clark CountyPJM
Site score 55 of 100
- Transmission
- 16/25
- Generation pipeline
- 4/20
- Industrial power price
- 19/20
- Existing and retiring plants
- 6/15
- Sales tax exemption
- 10/10
- Data center activity
- 0/10
- Market
- PJM
- Queue (active)
- 350 MW
- Agreement signed
- 0 MW
- Planned plants (EIA)
- 0 MW
- Top substation
- 345 kV
- Substations 230 kV+
- 2
- Operating plants
- 947 MW
- Retired or retiring
- 0 MW
- Industrial power, KY
- 7.5¢/kWh
- Sales tax exemption
- Yes
Largest queue requests
| Project | Point of interconnection | MW | Type | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon-North Clark 345 kVPJM AE2-138 - moved to TC1, in service 2022-06 | Avon-North Clark 345 kV | 260 | Solar | In study |
| Avon-North Clark 345 kVPJM AE2-210 - moved to TC1, in service 2022-06 | Avon-North Clark 345 kV | 90 | Solar | In study |
Substations, 115 kV and up
- J K SMITH (138 KV) · 6 lines345 kV
- Unnamed · 3 lines345 kV
5. Mason CountyPJM
Site score 55 of 100
- Transmission
- 14/25
- Generation pipeline
- 3/20
- Industrial power price
- 19/20
- Existing and retiring plants
- 8/15
- Sales tax exemption
- 10/10
- Data center activity
- 0/10
- Market
- PJM
- Queue (active)
- 250 MW
- Agreement signed
- 0 MW
- Planned plants (EIA)
- 0 MW
- Top substation
- 345 kV
- Substations 230 kV+
- 1
- Operating plants
- 1.6 GW
- Retired or retiring
- 0 MW
- Industrial power, KY
- 7.5¢/kWh
- Sales tax exemption
- Yes
Largest queue requests
| Project | Point of interconnection | MW | Type | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Clark-Spurlock 345 kVPJM AF2-111 - moved to TC1, in service 2023-12 | North Clark-Spurlock 345 kV | 250 | Solar | In study |
Substations, 115 kV and up
- Unnamed · 8 lines345 kV
- Unnamed · 5 lines138 kV
- Unnamed · 3 lines138 kV
6. Mercer CountyUtility: LG&E and KU
Site score 55 of 100
- Transmission
- 14/25
- Generation pipeline
- 4/20
- Industrial power price
- 19/20
- Existing and retiring plants
- 8/15
- Sales tax exemption
- 10/10
- Data center activity
- 0/10
- Market
- Utility: LG&E and KU
- Queue (active)
- 115 MW
- Agreement signed
- 0 MW
- Planned plants (EIA)
- 125 MW
- Top substation
- 345 kV
- Substations 230 kV+
- 1
- Operating plants
- 1.5 GW
- Retired or retiring
- 0 MW
- Industrial power, KY
- 7.5¢/kWh
- Sales tax exemption
- Yes
Largest queue requests
| Project | Point of interconnection | MW | Type | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Arsdell-Mercer Industrial 69kVPJM AI2-347, in service 2026-09 | Van Arsdell-Mercer Industrial 69kV | 95 | Solar | In study |
| Van Arsdell 69 kVPJM AH1-382, in service 2025-03 | Van Arsdell 69 kV | 20 | Solar or wind + storage | In study |
Substations, 115 kV and up
- BROWN PLANT · 17 lines345 kV
- Unnamed · 5 lines138 kV
- Unnamed · 3 lines138 kV
Planned, retiring and retired plants
- E W Brown · Storage, planned 2027125 MW
Data center tax exemption in Kentucky
Kentucky qualified data center project sales and use tax exemption (KRS 139.499; KRS 154.20-220 to 154.20-229)
Exempts data center equipment (servers, power and cooling infrastructure, software; electricity excluded) for KEDFA-approved projects whose owner, operator or colocation tenant invests within five years of preliminary approval at least $450 million (counties of 100,000+ residents), $100 million (50,001-99,999) or $25 million (50,000 or fewer), or $150 million for a project organizer; agreement terms run up to 50 years for $450 million+ projects, 25 years otherwise, or 15 years for project organizers; no statutory jobs minimum or sunset found.
Recent change: 2025 HB 775 (effective June 27, 2025) extended the 2024 Louisville-only exemption statewide with county-population investment tiers; in August 2026 a senior lawmaker said the General Assembly could revisit the breaks.
Source: Kentucky General Assembly, 2024-07-15. General information, not tax advice; ask your tax advisor.
Large-load requests in PJM
PJM forecasts its summer peak at 222,106 MW in 2036, up 65,733 MW in ten years, with large load adjustments for data center growth in 14 transmission zones, including Dominion (Virginia), AEP, ComEd and PECO. Near-term adjustments now require firm commitments, so they came down from the 2025 forecast. PJM, Jan 14, 2026
AI data centers being built in Kentucky
| Campus | Developer | County | MW | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TeraWulf Justified Data CampusUsers: Anthropic | TeraWulf | Hancock County | 401 | under construction | TeraWulfAug 2026 |
How the score works
Six parts out of 100: transmission (25), generation in the queue (20), the state's industrial power price (20), existing and retiring plants (15), sales tax exemption (10) and data center activity (10). The site finder's methodology prints each formula and every source with its date. Markets: PJM (Mid-Atlantic and Midwest), Utility territory (no ISO/RTO), MISO (Midwest and South).
All states
- US site finder
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- Oklahoma
- Oregon
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- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
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- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Discuss a transaction
Funding a data center or the GPUs going into one in Kentucky? Tell us about the site and the capital you need, and we will come back with the lenders and the structure that fit. Operators raising debt for a cluster can start at gpulenders.com.
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