Beshear: White House cut me out of Kentucky’s mega data center plan
TL;DR
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says the White House didn’t brief him before unveiling a $100 billion data-center and energy hub on a DOE site in Paducah, a move that underscores the political scramble surrounding large-scale AI infrastructure. Beshear criticized the lack of details on scope, power needs and environmental implications, while DOE says it notified his office in advance. The project—funded by NextEra Energy and Brookfield—has sparked local and state scrutiny over electricity costs, environmental impact, and governance as Beshear weighs a potential presidential run and issues an executive order to set standards for data centers.
- ‘I was not briefed’: Andy Beshear says Trump sidelined him on Kentucky data center plan Politico
- The data center fight in Kentucky is about democracy The Washington Post
- 'Enormous subsidies': Tax breaks for Kentucky data centers raise alarm The Courier-Journal
- McCracken County Fiscal Court weighs data center, morgue and courthouse security plans WPSD Local 6
- Kentucky Utilities' Mercer gas plant could test Beshear's data center executive order WEKU
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