Woodford County KY permanent data center ban (2026)
Woodford County, Kentucky — First County in the State to PERMANENTLY Ban Data Center Construction, Together With Landfills and Large Battery Storage (September 8, 2026)
Woodford County, KY · Woodford County, Ky. — ordinance permanently banning data centers, landfills and large battery storage (adopted September 8, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- September 8, 2026
- Applies to
- Any developer proposing a data center, landfill or large battery storage system in Woodford County, Kentucky
- Enforced by
- Woodford County Fiscal Court / Woodford County planning and zoning administration
On September 8, 2026 the Woodford County Fiscal Court voted unanimously to permanently ban the construction of data centers in the county — the first Kentucky county to do so. This is not a moratorium. Where almost every other local measure in this dataset pauses development for six months, a year, or three years while the jurisdiction writes rules, Woodford County simply prohibited the use. The ordinance also bans landfills and large battery storage systems, which are frequently paired with hyperscale data centers to smooth their electricity demand — so the ban reaches the supporting infrastructure as well as the facility itself. The county framed the decision around farmland rather than electricity or water bills. Judge-Executive James Kay put it as 'Woodford County's future is rooted in our land and water. Our future is farming,' and the county described the ordinance as protecting farmland, honoring farming families and safeguarding the quiet character of the countryside. Woodford County sits in the Bluegrass region, where the land at stake is horse and crop farmland. Kentucky already has a separate two-year moratorium in Bell County and a governor's executive order on data center development; this is the first permanent prohibition.
Who is protected: Woodford County residents, farmland owners and farming families, and the county's land and water resources
Legal detail
Woodford County, Ky. — county ordinance adopted unanimously by the Fiscal Court on September 8, 2026, permanently prohibiting the construction of DATA CENTERS, LANDFILLS and LARGE BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEMS within the county. FIRST-IN-STATE: no other Kentucky county had adopted a permanent data center ban; the state's existing local instrument is a two-year moratorium in Bell County (Two-year moratorium on data center construction and operation (adopted…). INSTRUMENT CLASS — the material distinction: this is a PERMANENT USE PROHIBITION, not a time-limited moratorium. It has no sunset, requires no follow-on regulation to take effect, and can only be undone by a subsequent Fiscal Court ordinance. THE BATTERY STORAGE COVERAGE IS DELIBERATE AND UNUSUAL: large battery energy storage systems are commonly co-located with hyperscale data centers to firm their load, and a ban naming only 'data centers' can leave the associated storage build permissible. Woodford County closed that gap in the same instrument. STATED RATIONALE: agricultural land preservation and rural character rather than the ratepayer-cost and water-scarcity framings that dominate the 2026 municipal record — Judge-Executive James Kay: 'Woodford County's future is rooted in our land and water. Our future is farming.' Woodford County lies in Kentucky's Bluegrass region. RELATED STATE ACTION, tracked separately: Kentucky Beshear data center executive order (2026).
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Woodford County, KY |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Strength | Stronger |
| Enacted | September 8, 2026 |
| Citation | Woodford County, Ky. — ordinance permanently banning data centers, landfills and large battery storage (adopted September 8, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data centers, landfills and large battery storage systems are prohibited uses; no construction approval may issue |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | A Kentucky county becomes first in state to permanently ban data center construction — Kentucky Lantern |
More AI rules in Woodford County, KY
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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