Indiana Data Center Intel

Recent Indiana data center news

• Jan 26, 2026

  EPA moves toward changing particulate matter standard as manufacturers urge action

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to revisit and ask the court to vacate the Biden-era annual PM2.5 standard of nine micrograms per cubic meter.

  • Main action: The EPA filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking the court to vacate the March 2024 PM2.5 annual standard (lowered from 12 µg/m3 to 9 µg/m3). The agency said the Biden EPA took a “regulatory shortcut” and failed to adequately consider compliance costs; EPA urged vacatur before the initial nonattainment determinations due on Feb. 7 and states’ implementation plans due in April.
  • Background and details: Industry groups including NAM and 15 trade associations (e.g., SMA, Aluminum Association, American Cement Association) have pressed the Trump administration to revert the standard; EPA previously estimated the 2024 rule could prevent 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, with monetized benefits of $22 billion to $46 billion and $590 million in estimated costs by 2032. A 2025 ACA report estimated 1 million metric tons of cement needed for AI data centers by 2028 and projects U.S. data centers rising from 5,426 to 6,000 by 2027.
• Jan 21, 2026

  Virginia proposes 20.78GW storage mandate as Trump, governors call for emergency PJM grid measures

  Virginia state delegate Richard C. ‘Rip’ Sullivan, Jr has introduced HB895 to raise mandatory energy storage procurement targets for Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia.

  • Main announcement: HB895 would require Appalachian Power to add 780MW short-duration by 2040 and 520MW long-duration by 2045, and Dominion Energy to add 16,000MW short-duration and 3,480MW long-duration by 2045; the bill is nearly identical to HB2537 (vetoed May 2025) but raises Dominion’s short-duration target from 5,220MW to 16,000MW within the same timeframe.
  • Background and related actions: The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors urged PJM (16 January) to hold an emergency procurement auction and to build more than US$15 billion of baseload generation; PJM responded by initiating a “Reliability Backstop Procurement” and directed immediate process discussions and deadlines to be considered at the 22 January Members Committee meeting. The bill and procurement push are motivated by rapidly rising demand in Virginia—driven largely by data centres—and recommendations from groups such as MAREC Action, NRDC, and Environment America.
• Jan 21, 2026

  Months later, lawsuit between nature school and bitcoin mine continues

  Lake Superior Academy (LSA) has filed a civil lawsuit against Odessa Partners over noise from a bitcoin-mining data center across the street; the dispute has continued into its seventh month.

  • Main announcement: LSA filed a civil lawsuit in June 2025 seeking damages for irreparable harm caused by noise from a cluster of data center units; mediation attempts stalled, the judge denied a jury trial request and ordered another 120-day mediation period.
  • Background & procedural details: LSA Superintendent Susie Schlehuber described stalled mediation where she asked the operator not to grow or become louder in exchange for dropping litigation; Odessa Partners filed a counter-suit seeking a bond to cover alleged damages (the judge did not grant the bond request).
• Jan 13, 2026

  Microsoft's Brad Smith Pushes Big Tech to 'Pay Our Way' for AI Data Centers

  Microsoft is urging that the tech industry — not taxpayers — should pay the full costs for electricity, transmission and grid upgrades needed to support large AI data centers, as promoted by Microsoft president Brad Smith in meetings with federal lawmakers.

  • Main action: Microsoft (Brad Smith) is pushing a plan for industry-funded grid and transmission upgrades, proposing a rate tariff and saying the company will help pay additional costs in states like Wisconsin; Microsoft also referenced a 150-megawatt solar farm and reiterated its carbon-negative by 2030 commitment.
  • Background and details: Local opposition cites higher electricity prices, heavy water use, and land/quality-of-life concerns; examples include a multibillion-dollar Amazon data center in Hobart, Indiana with two $5 million permit payments and $175 million in milestone payments over three years, and regional rate impacts in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic grid. The article is an edited AP interview (Matt O’Brien and Marc Levy).
• Jan 10, 2026

  On Nature column: Data centers come to Indiana

  Sheryl Myers warns that data center development is expanding in Indiana and highlights local opposition and pending state legislation.

  • Main announcement: Sheryl Myers reports that tech companies (notably Meta) are targeting multiple sites in Indiana — including a proposed 1,500-acre Meta data center in Lebanon — and that residents have opposed projects (Meta withdrew a proposal in Franklin). She notes AI applications and crypto mining are increasing demand, and that data centers are energy- and water-intensive, can require expanded local infrastructure paid for by utility ratepayers, and frequently receive tax rebates without mandated conservation practices.
  • Legislative and background details: During this year’s legislative session the Indiana House will consider House Bill 1043 (requires water consumption permitting before construction), Senate Bill 79 (a data center transparency bill to require more study of environmental impacts), and House Bill 1405 (would expand tax credits for incoming data centers). Myers lists other targeted or active sites: New Carlisle, Mooresville, Jeffersonville, Fort Wayne, Northwest Indiana, and notes equipment turnover, backup generators, toxic electronic waste, and competition for water during dry periods.
• Jan 9, 2026

  Meta Strikes Deal With Irving’s Vistra to Purchase Nuclear Power for Meta’s AI ‘Supercluster’

  Meta has signed 20-year power purchasing agreements (PPAs) with Vistra to procure 2,609 MW of zero-carbon nuclear energy to support Meta’s operations and its Prometheus AI supercluster in New Albany, Ohio.

  • Main announcement & deal details: Meta is purchasing 2,176 MW from operating units at Perry and Davis-Besse plus 433 MW of incremental output from equipment uprates at Perry (OH), Davis-Besse (OH), and Beaver Valley (PA) for a total of 2,609 MW; the PPAs are 20-year agreements, purchases begin in late 2026 and the full 2,609 MW will be online by 2034; Vistra will use the commitment to invest in uprates and pursue subsequent 20-year license extensions for the three plants.
  • Background and implementation details: Vistra acquired the plants in 2023, recently agreed to acquire Cogentrix Energy in a $4 billion deal; uprate projects span approximately nine years and are expected to support ~3,000 project-related jobs, increase state and local tax revenues (described as tens of millions of dollars annually), and benefit the PJM regional grid (PJM service area list provided in article).
• Jan 9, 2026

  Trump’s AI push breathes life into an old pollution scourge

  The EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin plans to loosen enforcement of a 2024 Biden-era coal ash rule, proposing regulatory changes and potentially granting a three-year cleanup extension to 11 power plants for 13 unlined coal ash dumps.

  • Main action: EPA plans to propose amendments to the 2024 coal ash rule and is considering a three-year extension (to Oct. 17, 2031) for a subset of plants; the proposal would apply to 11 plants and 13 unlined ash dumps (each spanning more than 40 acres), and the agency will accept comments through February 6, 2026. The agency says the extension aims to promote grid reliability amid rising demand from AI data centers.
  • Background and details: The 2024 rule had expanded oversight to legacy ash dumps after earlier exemptions; EPA and companies cite implementation challenges. Examples: NIPSCO/Schahfer previously expected to close by 2028 but EPA proposed extension to Oct. 2031; PacifiCorp stopped burning coal on Dec. 31 and will not use the extension (stop disposing ash by Sept. 30); several plants (Naughton, Baldwin) have reported groundwater exceedances of contaminants such as arsenic, lithium, fluoride and radium. EPA has not publicly confirmed compliance status for the 11 plants identified.
• Jan 9, 2026

  No chillers needed for Vera Rubin server racks: Nvidia CEO

  NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang announced at CES that the Vera Rubin rack is a “radical, extreme” design that is 100% liquid-cooled and can operate without a chiller.

  • Main announcement: At CES in Las Vegas (Monday), Jensen Huang said the Vera Rubin rack is “100% liquid-cooled” and that “At 45 degrees Celsius, the data center doesn’t need a chiller,” noting Vera Rubin consumes twice as much power as Grace Blackwell while delivering 5x peak inference and 3.5x peak training performance; Huang also emphasized assembly speed (five minutes versus two hours for its predecessor).
  • Background and details: HVAC and data-center cooling firms (e.g., Johnson Controls, Carrier) saw stock reactions after the remarks; Joe Capes (LiquidStack CEO) said Vera Rubin will likely accelerate demand for liquid cooling, while also noting high secondary water-loop temperatures may increase opportunities for dry coolers/free cooling and reduce reliance on evaporative cooling; local planning concerns about data-center water use were cited in the Shelbyville, Indiana 429-acre project rejection.
• Jan 6, 2026

  Global Data Centers Poised for an ‘Investment Supercycle,’ JLL Says

  JLL’s 2025 outlook projects global data center capacity will nearly double by 2030, driven primarily by AI demand and power-driven site selection changes.

  • Main announcement/action: JLL forecasts global capacity rising from ~103 GW to 200 GW by 2030, requiring ~$3 trillion over the next five years (including $1.2 trillion in real estate asset value creation and $870 billion in new debt financing); current market fundamentals include ~97% global occupancy and ~77% of construction pipeline pre-committed, with lease rates forecast to grow at ~5% CAGR through 2030.
  • Background and details: AI workloads expected to grow from ~25% (2025) to 50% by 2030 with an inflection around 2027 (inference surpasses training); power constraints are shifting siting to “power opportunistic” locations (e.g., Wisconsin, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, rural Illinois, Pennsylvania), equipment lead times average 33 weeks, grid-connection timelines often >4 years, and financing is maturing (core strategies now ~25% of fundraising) amid an “infrastructure investment supercycle.”
• Jan 6, 2026

  Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

  Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting, published a monthly roundup of current data center job openings on its jobs board.

  • Monthly jobs roundup: The post lists roughly 15–18 open roles (examples: Data Center Facility Technician, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Construction Project Manager, Senior Electrical Engineer, Production Architect, Strategic Sales Account Manager, Mechanical Engineer, Site Selection Manager/Director/VP, Electrical Project Manager, Electrical Superintendent, Project Executive, MEP Construction Project Manager, Mechanical Commissioning Engineer, Engineering Design Director, Navy Nuke Facility Technician) with locations across the United States including Impact, TX; Ashburn, VA; Dallas, TX; Atlanta, GA; Reading, PA; Allentown, PA; Charlotte, NC; New Albany, OH; Lyndhurst, NJ; Boulder, CO; Richmond, VA; Austin, TX.
  • Role and employer context: Positions are listed with mission-critical data center providers, engineering design and commissioning firms, A/E/C architecture firms, equipment rental providers, electrical contractors and general contractors; listings repeatedly cite energy efficiency, sustainable design, and AI infrastructure support, and several technician roles explicitly note acceptance of Navy Nuke / military veterans.