DartPoints Taps Kentucky for 70 MW AI Data Center Hub

LEXINGTON, KY – May 27, 2026 – In a significant move that underscores the shifting geography of digital infrastructure, Dallas-based DartPoints has acquired a massive data center campus in Lexington, Kentucky. The company announced plans to redevelop the site into a 70-megawatt (MW) powerhouse designed to meet the voracious demands of artificial intelligence, hyperscale cloud providers, and enterprise computing, positioning the Bluegrass State as a new, strategic node in America's data backbone.

The acquisition involves a 343,000-square-foot campus on a 29.5-acre plot. Crucially, the site is a "brownfield" project, meaning it already contains approximately 81,000 square feet of existing data center space and, most importantly, an owned on-site power substation. This existing infrastructure provides a critical head start, allowing for a much faster path to market compared to building a new facility from scratch.

DartPoints plans an initial phase to bring 20–30 MW of capacity online, with a long-term vision to scale the campus up to 70 MW. This scale is a direct response to the exponential growth of AI workloads that require immense power and advanced cooling, a trend that is reshaping the data center industry.

"Lexington gives us a rare combination of existing infrastructure, a supportive power environment and the ability to scale in a meaningful way," said Scott Willis, president and CEO of DartPoints, in a statement. "As AI, neo-cloud and hyperscale demand continue to reshape the market, customers need sites that can support larger power footprints, denser deployments and long-term growth. Lexington gives us that platform."

The New Geography of Data: Why Lexington?

The decision to invest heavily in Lexington is emblematic of a broader industry trend: the migration of data center development away from historically dominant, but now constrained, markets like Ashburn, Virginia. As the AI gold rush intensifies, developers are increasingly seeking locations that offer the holy trinity of data center needs: abundant and affordable power, ample land for expansion, and favorable regulatory environments.

Kentucky has been actively courting such investments. Recent legislation, such as House Bill 775, established significant sales and use tax exemptions for large-scale data center projects. For a project in a county like Fayette, where Lexington is located, an investment of at least $450 million can unlock tax exemptions for up to 50 years, creating a powerful financial incentive for developers like DartPoints.

Lexington's geographical position is another key asset. Situated centrally between the major connectivity hubs of Ashburn, Chicago, and Atlanta, the campus can offer low-latency connections essential for data-intensive workloads. This strategic placement transforms Kentucky from a flyover state into a critical digital crossroads.

While Lexington's existing data center market is modest, comprising a handful of smaller facilities, the sheer scale of the DartPoints project represents a quantum leap. It signals the arrival of hyperscale-ready infrastructure in the region, capable of attracting a new class of technology clients and stimulating the local digital economy.

Engineering for the AI Era

Modern artificial intelligence is built on hardware that consumes unprecedented amounts of power and generates extreme levels of heat. The new Lexington campus is being engineered from the ground up to handle these challenges, providing a blueprint for the next generation of data center design.

The facility is planned to support power densities of up to 200 kilowatts (kW) per rack, a massive increase from the 5-10 kW per rack common in traditional enterprise data centers. This density is essential for housing the powerful GPUs and specialized processors used for training and running AI models. The campus will also utilize 415V power distribution, an efficient standard for delivering the high currents these systems require.

Perhaps the most critical technological feature is the facility's advanced cooling architecture. Traditional air-cooling methods are no longer sufficient for managing the thermal output of high-density AI hardware. In response, DartPoints is designing the campus to support both conventional air cooling and state-of-the-art direct-to-chip liquid cooling. This technology uses a closed-loop system to circulate fluid directly over processors and other hot components, efficiently wicking away heat. The company highlights that this method is also a low-water-use solution, addressing growing environmental concerns about data center water consumption.

Powering the Digital Future

A 70 MW data center represents an enormous new load on the regional power grid. The success of this project—and others like it—hinges on the ability of local utilities to provide reliable and scalable energy. DartPoints is working closely with Kentucky Utilities (KU) and Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E), which are in the midst of a significant transformation to meet rising demand driven by economic development.

LG&E and KU are forecasting a 30% to 45% increase in system load by 2032, with data centers being a primary driver. To meet this need, the utilities are expanding their generation portfolio, with plans to add four new natural gas plants by 2028 and up to 1,000 MW of solar power by 2035. While Kentucky's grid is still predominantly powered by coal (84% of the current mix), these investments signal a strategic shift toward a more diverse energy supply.

The influx of power-hungry data centers has sparked debate in Kentucky about who should bear the cost of necessary grid upgrades. While legislation aimed at protecting ratepayers from these costs has been discussed, utilities assert that large users like data centers are required to pay for infrastructure built to serve them through specialized rate structures and financial guarantees.

For its part, DartPoints is also addressing sustainability through its technology choices. The company's commitment to efficient, low-water liquid cooling aligns with industry-wide efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of data centers. As utilities like LG&E and KU continue to explore cleaner long-term power sources, including advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), the synergy between data center growth and energy innovation will become increasingly vital.

With redevelopment and planning work already underway, DartPoints is moving aggressively to finalize ready-for-service dates. The project not only marks a major expansion for the company but also serves as a powerful indicator of how the insatiable demand for AI is redrawing the map of America's digital infrastructure.