Barr unveils plan to revive coal by fostering data-center infrastructure

Lexington Herald-Leader — January 7, 2026

The Bluegrass State is ripe with resources data centers need to outpace foreign competitors, and coal-fired energy is the backbone of that strategy, Barr told reporters at a press conference in Harlan County Monday morning. “We have to revive coal for national security … we're in a race for the technologies of the future.”

Topics: data-centers, coal-black-lung