Indianapolis can’t stop data centers. Congress must. | Opinion

In an opinion piece for the IndyStar, Jacob Stewart argues that local and state governments, including Indianapolis officials, are largely powerless to control the rapid proliferation of data centers. Stewart claims that despite efforts by city officials, such as rejecting rezoning for a data center campus in Franklin Township last year, developers like Google have circumvented these decisions by expanding existing facilities by 40%. A SABI data center in Decar Township is highlighted as another example, proceeding without full local review. This project was able to move forward because its proposed location was already zoned industrial, requiring only a variance that was recently approved by the Metropolitan Development Commission, which Stewart describes as a board of "unelected bureaucrats." Stewart emphasizes that the problem transcends local governance, as the state of Indiana has also shown no inclination to regulate or stop data centers. He warns that even if no new data centers were built in Indiana, electricity bills across the interconnected grid would still likely surge. This is attributed to the significant strain data centers place on the grid, leading to a substantial increase in the cost of importing out-of-state electricity. Given these challenges, Stewart concludes that data centers are a federal issue necessitating a federal response. He advocates for a federal ban on new data center development until the federal government can establish appropriate regulations to prevent the associated costs from being passed on to local communities.