INDIANA – Governor Mike Braun stated that Indiana is open to new investment, but he will not automatically approve projects like data centers unless they provide significant economic benefits. In a conversation with radio personality Tony Katz, Braun expressed his concerns about the high energy and water usage of these facilities, which typically create few permanent jobs.
Braun emphasized that his administration will evaluate new projects based on their true economic value. “It’s not a categorical yes or no,” he said. “We want to be open for business, but if it’s going to have an impact, and it’s not along with high-paying jobs,” then these companies may not receive local tax benefits. He highlighted a new law that requires data centers to pay for 80 percent of the cost of new electricity generation if they haven’t already started construction, a measure designed to protect utility customers from rising rates.
The Governor also weighed in on the broader issue of energy costs, noting that recent rate hike requests have become too common. He criticized proposals that don’t consider the impact on consumers. Braun pointed out that with demand for electricity increasing rapidly, driven in part by large data centers, the state must be careful with its energy policy. He advocated for a more reliable energy grid, expressing skepticism about wind and solar power due to their unreliability as a primary source of baseload energy. Instead, he supports the use of small modular nuclear reactors and delaying the delay of closing existing fossil fuel plants.
