IDEM approves Google’s request for additional diesel generators at Fort Wayne data center

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has approved a request by Google subsidiary Hatchworks LLC to install more than 140 emergency diesel generators, along with five smaller generators, 143 diesel storage tanks, and 49 cooling towers, at its Fort Wayne data center. This approval, granted on April 10, comes after months of significant community pushback and a public hearing held in November, where residents voiced concerns about environmental impacts and a perceived lack of transparency surrounding the $2 billion project. Google has stated that these generators are strictly for emergency and backup use, with daily operations powered by the grid through an agreement with I&M. In related developments, IDEM also approved a request from AEP in December to temporarily fill nearly an acre of protected wetlands. This action is to facilitate the construction of a new transmission line necessary to support the data center, with AEP committing to restore the wetlands after construction. Furthermore, Hatchworks LLC has filed an application for a third phase of the project, which proposes adding three new buildings to the campus and would impact protected waterways.