AI Company Sues Town for Trying to Block Data Center Near National Park
Kentucky Industrial Alliance is suing Cave City after the city imposed a one-year moratorium on new data centers soon after the company proposed a 600-acre, 1.2-gigawatt AI and cloud campus near Mammoth Cave National Park. The developer is also contesting Cave City’s 2024 annexation of the land, arguing the site should be outside city limits and beyond the moratorium’s reach. City officials say they need time to assess a project of this scale, while the company says the city blocked a potentially billion-dollar investment that would bring jobs and tax revenue. The project has faced strong local opposition because of its proximity to Mammoth Cave and concerns about groundwater, sinkholes, power demand, and impacts on the karst landscape. The dispute reflects broader resistance to data center expansion, with several states considering restrictions and conservation groups warning about risks near protected natural areas.
