Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear claims the Trump administration blindsided him on a massive data center deal.
The governor alleged that the White House, the Department of Energy (DOE) nor the companies financing the state’s data center project notified him of the $100 billion proposal’s announcement, according to Politico. The DOE claimed Beshear was told about the announcement more than once.
“The Energy Department provided notifications to members of the Governor’s office the week prior to the announcement and again the week of the announcement,” a DOE spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is standard practice.”
The data center project will be located on a 3,556-acre former Cold War uranium enrichment facility in Paducah, Kentucky, according to the department. The site will be completed in 2032 and intends to create 8,000 construction jobs, a July 29 press release said.
“I was not briefed on it. I had gotten notice that there would be an announcement and that it was a data center announcement,” Beshear said in a Friday interview with Politico. “But at no point did the companies come and talk about the scope, the power demands, how they were going to be met, designs that could reduce or eliminate — hopefully — environmental issues.”
A spokesperson for NextEra Energy, one of the two main companies behind the project alongside Brookfield Asset Management, told the DCNF that the company is “committed to continue working with all stakeholders as we move forward with the Paducah American Energy Hub.”
“We are confident that the project, which builds on Paducah’s Energy legacy, will benefit the local community and Kentucky. We have reached out to the governor’s office to schedule time and look forward to engaging constructively with him and the community as a whole,” the spokesperson added.
Beshear’s office and Brookfield Asset Management each did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“Proud to announce a $100 billion private investment to redevelop a portion of a site into a world-class data center,” Energy Secretary Chris Wrightsaid in a July 30 X post announcing the data center deal.
Paducah residents expressed concern about the Energy project’s effect on costs and the environment.
“Prices are already so high right now, and the harm to the environment and water: that’s what worries me,” Jackie Riley, a Paducah resident, told Politico.
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