What to know for tonight's public hearing on Fort Wayne's Google data center

Hey Locals,

In recent months, Fort Wayne’s Google data center has requested to expand its number of diesel generators onsite by more than five times the amount originally requested (34), bringing the new total to 179.

Tonight, from 6-9 p.m., there will be a public hearing on the topic, hosted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management at Ivy Tech Northeast Community College Coliseum Campus in the Auditorium (Enter Door #6) at 3800 N. Anthony Blvd. 

Today’s rundown is intended to provide you with a broad overview of some key issues related to the public hearing, as well as questions and resources to consider going forward. 

To be clear: Data centers and how they affect the local economy and environment is a huge topic, and there’s a lot more to unpack here in coming weeks. But to prevent both you and us from getting overwhelmed, we wanted to start with the most basic and relevant information. 

To inform this report, we talked with:

• John Urbahns, President & CEO of Allen County’s chamber of commerce, Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
• Bruce Kingsbury, Wildlife biologist and professor at Purdue University Fort Wayne
• Friends who work closely with AI nationally (off the record)
• Tony Fleming, a retired professional hydrogeologist from Allen County, now based in Noble County
• Julie Good, Director & Conservationist at Allen Co. Soil and Water Conservation District

Let’s start with the basics.

• To wrap your mind around the implications of Fort Wayne’s Google data center, it might help to think of data centers like resource-intensive manufacturing facilities of the digital age. They create significant economic opportunities, though in different ways than more traditional manufacturing companies (like Steel Dynamics). Yet, they also require significant amounts of local resources and some tradeoffs environmentally. 
• Overall, the biggest outlier for data centers compared to other industries is their gargantuan (and unprecedented) power demand. Unlike manufacturing facilities, whose power usage fluctuates throughout the day, a data center’s power usage is extremely high, but also extremely predictable – flatlined at about 100%, 24/7. This puts significant strain on the power grid that is already struggling to keep up with explosive data center growth because…

• Globally, there’s an AI arms race among tech giants that’s driving demand for data centers, like the one by Google in Fort Wayne. Along with running Google’s own services and expanding its AI capabilities, part of a data center’s business model often relies on selling data to other companies that use it for their own computing and storage. So if a Google data center goes down, even partially or very briefly, its downtime can result in significant data loss, service disruptions and other costly financial losses. Hence, the need for highly reactive and reliable backup power sources.

Enter: diesel generators. 

• Diesel generators are widely preferred as backup generators for data centers because they’re extremely reliable, fast-acting and energy-dense. However, they aren’t the most environmentally friendly, and there’s a push globally to supplement or replace them with greener, more renewable sources, like solar and battery power. 
• There’s a lot we still don’t know for sure about the diesel generators Google plans to use in Fort Wayne. We would like to know more about what type of pollution controls (if any) will be put in place, and whether Google is employing batteries to reduce the need for backup power generation. A citizen factsheet on the data center says the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Draft Air Permit would allow for more than 980 tons/year of air pollutants to be emitted at this site.
• So far, citizens have voiced concerns about the data center contributing to health and equity disparities on the city’s Southeast side.* Notably, the data center is less than two miles from schools, like Paul Harding Junior High, Southwick Elementary and Prince Chapman Academy. And the American Lung Association recently gave Allen County a “D” in their 2025 State of the Air Report, meaning diesel pollution could worsen existing conditions.

So what’s the risk?

Here are a few things to consider:

• Google’s proposed 179 backup diesel generators in Fort Wayne aren’t just for blackouts. They can kick on whenever the local power grid gets overloaded. This will likely apply to hot days when a majority of homes and businesses in Fort Wayne are running their AC. 
• Still, it’s unlikely that all of these 179 generators will be running at once, or for extended periods of time. After all, they are more costly and inconvenient for Google to use than relying on I&M for power, which is their primary source.
• However, I&M will need to vastly increase its capacity to handle the new demand of Fort Wayne’s Google data center, and it’s not clear how they’re going to do that or who will bear the cost. In September, I&M submitted a proposal to the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor to add about 3,800 megawatts to its electricity generation facilities (enough to power more than 2 million homes annually), The JG* reports. “Yet I&M hasn’t identified whether the facilities will be new or acquired, where they will be located, or even how much they will cost the utility and its ratepayers.”
• Indiana law allows for this ambiguity, favoring tech and business growth over protecting residents from rate hikes. In fact, a new state law, Indiana House Enrolled Act 1007, incentivizes and streamlines utility expansion projects like I&M’s,* cutting the time for approval in half from 180 to 90 days, and ​​not requiring utility companies to disclose impacts, like forecasted rate and bill hikes for customers.
• At the same time, delays in I&M’s ability to increase its capacity enough to handle the demands of Fort Wayne’s Google data center has risks, too. It could result in Google's greater reliance on its backup diesel generators, as well as higher utility bills to consumers, if the demand for power outpaces the local power supply.  
• And you’re already paying for the increased power demands of data centers in your Fort Wayne utility bills. In recent years, power companies, like I&M, have made upgrades to prepare for new business from data centers, and these costs get carried over to utility customers of all sizes. The JG* reports: “Electricity rates in Indiana have increased by an average of 17.5% in the 12 months ending with July 2025 — the largest increase in at least 20 years. Rate hikes approved for Indiana’s utilities have driven the surge, with some seeing increases of 20% or more. I&M increased rates by 3.9% over the same timeframe.”

Our two cents: Overall, because there is so much we don’t know about the Google data center in Fort Wayne and its effects – both positive and negative – it’s difficult to weigh the benefits and drawbacks to locals or assess how it compares to other industries seeking to grow here. Google’s decision to vastly expand its number of backup diesel generators in Fort Wayne could be part of its attempt to insure its investment and hedge its bets against the local power supply. It will be interesting to see how this growth affects the local economy, too, considering that I&M is headquartered in Downtown Fort Wayne, and the data center boom is creating historic opportunities for power companies like it to become power players in the global economy (pun intended). At the same time, we’re skeptical about how many benefits of data centers and the AI arms race will trickle down to average power consumers, like us, who are probably more likely to see rate hikes and consumption of our natural resources, along with few local jobs at the data center itself (relative to its size and demands). Diesel generators, in general, are not optimal power sources for the environment and local health, especially in close proximity to schools. It will be important for citizens to monitor and report the effects of the data center on air quality and other environmental factors and to advocate for better environmental protections in Indiana. 

For further reading on opportunities and drawbacks related to data centers and power usage, our sources recommend:

• Shorting the Grid by Meredith Angwin
• Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Well, that’s all for now, folks, and maybe we’ll see you at the public hearing tonight. We have a LOT more notes on data centers, their pros and cons, and how they affect other environmental concerns, like water systems. We plan to share more in coming weeks.

In the meantime, if you have any specific questions, hit reply to this email, and let us know.

Have a good weekend, Locals!

Your Editor,

Kara Hackett