NWI Forum announces $7 billion Amazon data center coming to Jasper County
The Northwest Indiana Forum announced a new $7 billion Amazon data center campus, Project Rise, in Jasper County, Indiana, which county officials unanimously approved. Amazon plans significant investments in local water infrastructure and habitat restoration, alongside an expanded energy agreement with NIPSCO. The project faces opposition from local environmental and community groups concerned about grid reliability, environmental impact, and tax abatements.
The Northwest Indiana Forum officially announced on Wednesday a new $7 billion Amazon data center campus, dubbed "Project Rise," slated for Jasper County, Indiana. The facility will be located in Kankakee Township.
Jasper County officials, including the Commissioners and Council, unanimously approved the project. As part of the development, Amazon plans to invest $25 million to extend domestic water service to Wheatfield Township and fully fund its own water and wastewater infrastructure. The company also committed to restoring 425 acres of natural habitat in the Kankakee River watershed and expanded its energy agreement with Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), expected to save electric customers approximately $1.25 billion over 15 years.
The project, however, is meeting significant opposition. Groups like the Citizens Action Coalition and Just Transition Northwest Indiana have voiced concerns, calling the project "widely unpopular" and a "top threat to grid reliability, affordability and sustainability in Indiana." Opposition leaders also raised alarms about a new NIPSCO gas plant intended to power data centers in the region and an approved "sweetheart deal" between NIPSCO, its subsidiary GenCo, and Amazon by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), which critics argue will disadvantage existing ratepayers.