Bourbon County adopts 365‑day moratorium on utility‑scale power, crypto mining, data centers and waste disposal while zoning is updated

Bourbon County commissioners adopted a temporary moratorium prohibiting construction or installation of new utility‑scale power generation, crypto mining, data centers and waste disposal operations in the county for a 365‑day period or until zoning amendments are adopted.

Commissioner Milbour introduced a draft resolution noting that the county lacked specific standards for utility‑scale generation and related uses and that the planning commission and its consultant needed time to prepare potential land‑development regulations. The resolution language read in public explicitly exempts three identified commercial solar projects — Tennyson Creek Solar LLC, Tennyson Creek Solar 2 LLC and Hinton Creek Solar LLC — from the moratorium.

The resolution states the moratorium will last 365 days from adoption or until the county adopts zoning amendments that regulate those uses, whichever comes first. At the meeting commissioners discussed whether to delay and how the moratorium affects pending and prospective projects; county counsel said the moratorium would allow the planning process adequate time and would not retroactively affect the three named solar projects.

A motion to adopt the moratorium passed at the meeting; one commissioner recorded an abstention in the transcript. Staff assigned the new resolution a docket number and placed it in county records. Commissioners directed planning staff to continue work on zoning amendments and to coordinate with the planning commission consultant.