Digital Crossroads Indiana Digital Data Center in Hammond, Indiana. While 11 data centers were planned to be built in Indiana from companies such as Google, Amazon and Meta, grassroots resistance has begun to emerge from local residents against the increased traffic, water usage and electricity. Amidst this, the IEDC has extended a study on the effects of data centers. Photo from Digital Crossroads.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Economic Development Corp. commissioned Boston Consulting Group earlier this year to produce a $650,000 report evaluating the economics of data centers. The study is expected to outline the costs, incentives and community impacts of the facilities while offering a set of guidelines for how the state should approach proposals.

Originally due Monday, June 30, the report has been delayed as the IEDC finalized an extension for a second phase of the project. A spokesperson said the findings could be released as soon as next week, though no date has been set.

The review comes as Indiana experiences a wave of proposals fueled by tax breaks first approved in 2019. Companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have targeted the state, attracted by low land and energy costs and relatively few natural disasters. Citizens Action Coalition estimates about 40 projects are active or proposed statewide.

Communities have embraced some projects — including an $800 million development in Michigan City — while others have pushed back. Proposals have been rejected in Kosciusko County, Chesterton, Burns Harbor and Valparaiso, with opponents citing concerns over electricity use, water supplies, noise and the loss of farmland. Critics also point to limited job creation compared with the scale of investment.

Boston Consulting’s report is expected to weigh those issues and analyze whether data centers provide sufficient returns for Indiana. The firm has previously conducted incentive-related studies for the IEDC, including work tied to semiconductor development near the LEAP Innovation District.

The IEDC has said the new study’s findings will be made public once complete.