One of the largest and most powerful hyperscale data centers in the world is being proposed for the heart of rural Oldham County in Kentucky, but facing stiff opposition from residents who fear its size and various forms of pollution will wreck what makes the area a great place to live.

The company behind the massive, 2 million square-foot complex of high-power consuming digital infrastructure equipment is promising the “economic pillar” will be a financial windfall for the county, but local critics are highly skeptical. They accuse the company of skirting zoning ordinances by designating itself as a “private utility” so it can build heavy industry on agricultural land, bypassing the normal rezoning approval from the county’s elected fiscal court.

Though Republican leaders in Frankfort p

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