A Kentucky farming family has walked away from a US$26.48 million offer for land earmarked for a massive data centre, as opposition grows across the United States to infrastructure being built to support the artificial intelligence boom.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Delsia Bare, 54, and her mother, Ida Huddleston, 83, were offered nearly 10 times the estimated market value for about 216 hectares of farmland near Maysville, Kentucky.
The pair initially agreed to the sale before changing their minds after discovering their property was intended to form part of a proposed 2.2-gigawatt hyperscale data centre.
A facility of that size could reportedly require as much electricity as almost two million average American homes.
The company behind the proposed development has not been officially identified. However, the Journal said public records pointed towards Meta. The technology company said no decision had been made about establishing operations in the area.
Bare and Huddleston’s family has owned the property for almost two centuries, with successive generations using the land for cattle, tobacco and other agricultural production.
Other neighbouring property owners have agreed to sell land for the project, with purchase agreements reportedly worth a combined US$110 million. Legal action by Bare and other opponents has delayed those transactions and the payments expected by participating landowners.
The dispute has divided the local community.
Development officials argue the project could deliver about 400 permanent jobs, alongside hundreds of construction positions. Taxes generated by the development could also double or triple the town’s budget.
Opponents, however, have raised concerns about the enormous electricity and water requirements associated with hyperscale data centres, as well as noise and their impact on surrounding communities.
The Kentucky dispute reflects a wider backlash against the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure across the US. A Gallup poll conducted earlier this year found seven out of ten Americans opposed having an AI data centre built in their local area.
The issue is also emerging as a political battleground ahead of November’s midterm elections. A Washington Post analysis found hundreds of federal and state candidates from both major parties had adopted policies addressing AI or data centres, covering almost 40 per cent of US districts.
Some local authorities have already moved to restrict further development. Seattle imposed a moratorium on new or expanded data centres in June while reviewing land-use rules, while Nashville temporarily stopped issuing permits for data centre developments in July. Several Michigan townships have introduced similar pauses.
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