Kentucky Lantern: As power-intensive data centers eye Kentucky, UofL panel details concerns
January 19, 2026LEXINGTON — Natasha DeJarnett, a University of Louisville assistant professor of medicine, said her speciality is air quality and heart disease, though in recent months she’s been talking much more with community members about another topic: a possible influx of data centers.
A wide range of questions and concerns have come up: What data centers could mean for utility and electricity costs; where data centers will be placed; how nearby property values could be impacted; and how data centers will impact public health?
DeJarnett, speaking Monday at the 49th annual Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment hosted by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, remembered talking with someone from Dulles, Virginia, one of the nation’s biggest hubs for massive, electricity-intensive “hyperscale” data centers.
“What she said was, ‘You don’t want a data center in your backyard.’ And I think that’s been a common conversation that we’ve heard in these community meetings,” DeJarnett said. “People are deeply concerned about their families and their children and the future of their children.”