In the small Kentucky community of Ghent, residents are mobilizing against a major data center project they said advanced without the public input they expected.
What's happening?
WAVE reported the dispute has become about more than a single development. Opponents have said it is also about whether communities get a meaningful say when projects with environmental and economic implications arrive in their backyard.
Louisville-based Poe Companies is pursuing a data center project in Carroll County that has alarmed residents in Ghent. Poe Companies is also the developer behind the disputed Campground Road facility in Louisville, which is already under construction.
Supporters have highlighted the proposed site's access to Interstate 71. In a public letter, Carrollton's mayor defended the plan and projected substantial tax revenue for the county. The facility itself would be located in Green's Bottom, between the regional sewage treatment facility, the Kentucky River, and Interstate 71.
That defense has not eased residents' concerns. They say key details were not shared soon enough for them to weigh in before the project moved forward, a frustration Carroll County resident and meeting organizer Laura Beth Austin voiced directly.
"There's been no transparency from our local government," Austin said, per WAVE. "And our county, our city of Carrollton — we are extremely disappointed in them. And we think that we deserve better here."
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Poe Companies had not responded to WAVE's request for comment, and no construction date for the Carroll County project had been announced.
Why does it matter?
Data centers are often promoted as economic drivers, but they can also raise serious local concerns over land use, water, energy demand, and lasting changes to a community's character.
Much of the concern in Carroll County centers on what the project could mean for the Kentucky River and for a place many residents view as tied to agriculture rather than industrial-scale digital infrastructure.
Skepticism about the benefits being promised is also playing a major role. Stella Pollard, a Kentucky State Senate District 20 candidate who joined opponents, questioned whether the project would deliver what supporters have suggested.
"They promise a lot of tax revenue and a lot of money coming in," Pollard told WAVE. "And it doesn't happen. And that's why we have to be transparent about the data centers."
What's being done?
The opposition is starting to take a more organized form. Residents said that a petition could begin circulating as early as the beginning of August.
The effort is also drawing support from beyond Carroll County. Pollard has joined opponents, along with Louisville-based activist group No Data Center 502, which has been fighting the Campground Road project and said it now plans to watch the developer's activity across Kentucky.
Opponents told WAVE they see this as part of a broader fight over public voice, local land, and environmental stewardship.
"Where Steve Poe goes, we will too," No Data Center 502's Kendra Isham said in reference to the company's CEO. "We are here to tell Steve Poe no everywhere."
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