Indiana Data Centers Push the Case for Nuclear Power

TL;DR: Data centers came up in several presentations at the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable's outlook event, and Amazon Web Services alone is investing more than $15 billion through two projects, the Chicago Tribune reported. State officials are pairing that demand with a nuclear readiness program, but the sources describe planning, not reactors.

What did the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable report?

Data centers were a factor in several presentations at the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable's 10th annual economic outlook event on Oct. 30, according to the Chicago Tribune. The paper called them evidence of the centers' enormous impact on the region's economy.

The Tribune listed the money. Amazon Web Services is investing more than $15 billion through its Hobart campus and Project Rise in Wheatfield. Microsoft's LaPorte campus is a $1 billion initial investment, expected to grow to several billion. Google's Project Maize in Michigan City is a planned $832 million.

Project	Reported investment	Source
Amazon Web Services, Hobart and Project Rise	More than $15 billion	Chicago Tribune
Microsoft, LaPorte campus	$1 billion initial, expected to reach several billion	Chicago Tribune
Google, Project Maize, Michigan City	$832 million planned	Chicago Tribune
NiSource, Schahfer gas expansion and GenCo battery storage	$7 billion	Chicago Tribune

Read the NiSource line twice. The Tribune reported that the utility's spending covers a gas plant expansion and a 500-megawatt battery storage facility, with 400 MW of that storage tied to Amazon's Hobart campus. Gas and batteries, not reactors, are what is being built today.

Why is Indiana talking about nuclear?

In July, Governor Mike Braun and Energy Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski announced a nuclear readiness program meant to prepare interested communities, WFYI reported. Officials described it as part of an effort to bring more energy to the grid and attract investment.

Meta is building a $10 billion data center in Lebanon, Indiana, WFYI reported. Braun said the condition is that new data centers not raise rates for ordinary ratepayers.

That condition is where the investment question starts. Who pays for new generation while the load is still arriving?

What has Indiana already tried on nuclear?

In 2025 the Indiana House passed House Bill 1007, which would let a utility pass some of the cost of developing a small modular reactor to its customers, WVPE reported, even if the plant never gets finished. The same report notes that one federally funded project was canceled in 2023 after more than a decade of work and nearly $9 billion in costs.

That history is the counterweight to the headline. A call for reactors is not a reactor. Elsewhere the timelines run long: Yahoo Finance reported that Google said the first reactor from its Kairos Power deal should be online by 2030.

What does this mean for an accredited investor?

Most of what the Tribune describes sits with public companies and utilities. Nothing in these sources describes an offering a private investor can join.

The practical read is about exposure you may already hold. If a fund or sponsor pitches AI infrastructure, the power cost and the power source are underwriting inputs, and you should ask about both before anything else. Our earlier look at Amazon's Indiana nuclear plan shows how early a feasibility study is, and infrastructure debt for the data-center boom covers one way private capital gets in. For the cost-recovery risk, see Valar Atomics' Utah plan.

Common mistakes

The first is treating a policy call as a project. A readiness program prepares communities. It builds nothing.

The second is reading a capital figure as a return, when $15 billion of data center spending says nothing about who earns what on it or when.

The third is assuming nuclear supply will arrive on the data center's schedule, when the 2023 cancellation after nearly $9 billion shows how that can go.

FAQ

Do nuclear power plants power data centers?

Some deals are being struck. Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy to source power from a previously shuttered Three Mile Island reactor by 2028, according to Yahoo Finance. In Indiana, the sources describe plans and programs, not an operating link.

What company makes small nuclear reactors for data centers?

The sources here name Kairos Power, which Google signed a deal with, per Yahoo Finance.

How much power could data centers need?

A Department of Energy spokesperson said AI data centers could increase energy demand by as much as 20% over the next decade, per Yahoo Finance.

What to do today

If you hold or are being pitched an AI infrastructure fund, ask the sponsor in writing where the power comes from, who bears the cost if new generation is delayed, and what happens to returns if it never arrives.

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