• Amazon’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services plans to invest $11 billion to build a data centre in northern Indiana, which is regarded as “the largest capital investment announcement in Indiana’s history.”
  • The data centre would be built “over the next decade” at the Indiana Enterprise Center, located just east of New Carlisle, and “will be a major employment centre for all of northern Indiana.”
  • The AWS data centre would contain computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment, and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing capabilities, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing division, intends to invest $11 billion to construct a data centre in northern Indiana that will generate at least 1,000 new jobs, according to information released on Thursday by the state and company officials.

Project’s influences

Republican Governor Eric Holcomb stated in a news release that “this significant investment solidifies Indiana’s leadership position in the economy of the future and it will undoubtedly have a positive ripple effect on the town of New Carlisle, the north-central region, and the state of Indiana for years to come.”

The announcement from AWS and Holcomb’s office lacked a timeline for the data centre campus located in St. Joseph County, northern Indiana, which borders Michigan. However, the news release stated that it will be constructed “over the next decade” at the Indiana Enterprise Center, which is situated east of New Carlisle, and that it will be a major employment centre for all of northern Indiana, according to Carl Baxmeyer, president of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has promised to grant data centre sales tax exemptions “for eligible capital investments over a 50-year term,” according to the release, in light of the company’s planned investment.

The release states that to support the AWS data centre plans, the IEDC has also committed to a range of performance-based tax credits, including up to $20 million in redevelopment tax credits, up to $55 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits, and up to $18.3 million in headcount-based tax credits.

AWS has committed to contributing up to $7 million towards the enhancement of State Road 2’s road infrastructure, which encircles the company’s proposed data centre.

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More information

The project is located approximately 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of South Bend in the town of New Carlisle. Republican governor Eric Holcomb referred to it as “the largest capital investment announcement in Indiana’s history.”

AWS data centre would house computer servers, networking hardware, data storage devices, and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing capabilities and generative AI technologies.