Independent congressional candidate Jay Bowman addresses the Lexington Planning Commission during the July 30 public hearing on data center regulations. (Photo Credit: Campaign Photo)
Jay Bowman participates in the public remarks to the Planning Commission, Offering Fast-Track Green Solution for Data Center Infrastructure Strain
LEXINGTON, KY, UNITED STATES, July 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Jay Bowman, independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, has formally urged the Lexington Planning Commission to revolutionize its approach to data center zoning.
Speaking at a public hearing on text
While praising the commission for tackling what he called an "impossible task," Bowman warned that traditional square-footage metrics fail to capture the true infrastructure strain of modern data facilities. He proposed a streamlined "fast-track" permitting system to incentivize developers to completely self-supply their energy and eliminate local water waste.
"I thought I was doing something hard, running for Congress in the 6th District as an independent candidate, but you on the planning commission have been given an impossible task," Bowman told the commissioners. "I urge you to refrain from traditional zoning requirements such as square footage of the project and concentrate on the power requirements of the project to set future guidelines. Having developed several international patents in AI Machine Learning, I intimately understand the massive power requirements of these data centers. If these developers wish to profit here, our zoning laws must obligate them to fund their own sustainable power. Lexington’s resources should serve its residents first."
A FOUR-POINT MANDATE + FAST-TRACK PERMITTING
To manage the "race" for data center development without draining Fayette County's resources, Bowman formally proposed a compromise: offer fast-track permitting to developers who legally agree to four strict operational paths, always subject to community approval:
• 100% OFF-SITE SOLAR: Developers must legally secure 100% of their electricity from newly developed, regional off-site solar infrastructure via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to prevent grid cannibalization.
• ON-SITE BATTERY STORAGE: Facilities must integrate industrial battery storage to hold excess daytime solar generation, completely eliminating nighttime reliance on local fossil-fuel peaking plants.
• CLOSED-LOOP LIQUID COOLING: Developers must utilize advanced systems that recycle cooling liquid indefinitely, achieving zero water waste and cutting consumption by up to 95% compared to traditional evaporative cooling.
• COMMUNITY PROJECT APPROVAL: Fast-track priority remains firmly contingent upon localized neighborhood review and community consent.
THE HIDDEN INFRASTRUCTURE STRAIN
Bowman’s detailed filing exposed the massive environmental footprint of even minor facilities under 50,000 square feet, which can cost between $30 million and $100 million to construct:
• THE POWER AND LAND STRAIN: A facility of this scale draws (MW) of continuous power. Offsetting this requires 100 to 250 acres of utility-scale solar panels. Because a 50,000-square-foot building sits on just over one acre, rooftop solar is physically incapable of meeting the demand.
• THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT WATER STRAIN: Standard evaporative cooling systems consume up to 300,000 gallons of potable water per day on-site—equal to more than 1,000 residential households. Furthermore, drawing grid power forces regional coal plants to consume roughly 19,185 gallons of water per Megawatt-hour generated.
Bowman emphasized that requiring a secondary capital investment of $35 million to $85 million for regional solar infrastructure, battery storage, and advanced plumbing is standard and highly viable for multi-million dollar tech firms operating at this scale.
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