Citizens vs. Data Center: How did we get here? And what can be done?

Hey Locals,

On Tuesday night, about 20 citizens rallied outside Indiana Michigan Power’s Downtown HQ and attended City Council, asking council members to speak up about the Google data center’s diesel generators. This was the subject of a highly attended public hearing last week held by state regulators at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). 

While protesters didn’t get much feedback from council on Tuesday, we were able to follow up with a few council members to get more insight on the situation. That will be the focus of today’s newsletter.

For a quick refresher: 

• Google is seeking permission to have 179 backup diesel generators (with no pollution controls) at its data center in Southeast Fort Wayne. Citizens are asking local elected officials, like City Council, to demand Google withdraw its draft air permit with state regulators at IDEM, or tell IDEM to deny the request.
• Both citizens and City Council members we’ve talked with so far say they were unaware of the scope of Google’s diesel generators in 2023 – when City Council and other local government entities gave the project its initial approvals for land rezoning and annexation. Google revealed itself to be the project's owner in early 2024 and requested its initial 34 diesel generators in September of that year.

So… why haven’t local leaders known about the extent of Google’s diesel generators until now? And what can citizens do to change things?

To answer this, we sought comment from:

• John Urbahns, CEO of Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
• Allen County Commissioners office
• Allen County-Fort Wayne Plan Commission
• Kim Koczan, citizen advocate
• Fort Wayne City Council