The list of Indiana communities hitting the brakes on data centers keeps growing. At least 50 counties, more than half the state, now have some kind of pause, rule or ban on data center development, WFYI reporting published by Louisville Public Media shows.
That's up from about 30 communities with some form of ban in July.
The numbers
The figures come from the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute, which tracks local data center rules. Its data shows:
- 32 counties have passed moratoriums.
- 14 counties have passed regulatory ordinances.
- In four communities, data centers are not permitted.
At least one county, Marshall, has made its ban permanent. And Starke County approved a ban on data centers on Monday, Oct. 19.
"What we're seeing that's new but not really surprising since July is an increased number of moratoria, and also several of those moratoria becoming permanent decisions, whether that is a ban on data center development or an ordinance like an updated zoning code or other local policy," said Therese Dorau, assistant director for climate policy and implementation at the institute.
Pauses of different lengths
The moratoriums vary a lot in length. DeKalb County's six-month moratorium expired earlier this month. Marion County passed one in August that set up a data center research committee to study the issue and propose zoning rules. It lasts through the end of 2027. Steuben County's, the most recent policy on the list, passed Sept. 15 and lasts only six months.
Dorau said a moratorium should be used as a pause, not a final decision. "It's a way to say we're going to put a timeframe on which our government is going to do more in-depth research about what is right for our community," she said.
Why communities are pushing back
Indiana lawmakers created policies to attract big data center developers, including laws that allow tax breaks and other incentives. That has drawn tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Meta, WFYI reports.
But the projects have run into opposition in Indiana and across the country over electricity, water and land use. Critics have also raised concerns about noise and air pollution, and questioned whether promised benefits like long-term jobs actually reach local communities.
The IU institute has also put together an updated resource on what science and research say about some of these concerns, WFYI reports.
Some projects keep moving
Even as local restrictions spread, some big projects are moving ahead. Earlier this month, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved a $737.3 million plan by AES Indiana to power a 390-megawatt Google data center project in Monrovia. The companies said Google will cover 100% of the costs, but critics worry that $74 million in transmission upgrades will be passed on to customers.
Why it matters for contractors
Data centers have been one of the biggest sources of new commercial construction work in Indiana, and these local rules are changing where that work can happen. With more than half the state's counties now under some kind of restriction, contractors chasing data center jobs should check local rules before counting on a pipeline in any county.
A moratorium is not always the end of the story. Several are temporary, and some, like Marion County's, are meant to lead to new zoning rules. When those rules arrive, they could add requirements for noise, water use, setbacks or other site conditions. Contractors who know what's coming will be better prepared to price and design for it.
Other data center work is still moving forward. The AES Indiana plan for Google's Monrovia project shows that utility and transmission work tied to data centers can go ahead in places that welcome them, and that's major work for electrical and utility contractors.
The practical takeaway is to follow this county by county. Watch when moratoriums expire, which ones become permanent and which counties adopt ordinances instead. For many Indiana contractors, the map of where data centers can be built is now just as important as the projects themselves.