Residents get opportunity to meet Amazon face-to-face

Posey County resident Kelly Collins, center, has data center questions answered by representatives from Amazon during their meeting with the public on Thursday evening at the Posey County Fairgrounds. Photo by Dave Pearce

By Dennis Marshall

NEW HARMONY, Ind. — Amazon Web Services has identified farmland just east of Mount Vernon and south of AstraZeneca as a potential site for a data center in Posey County. This gives residents their clearest look yet at where the company might build while leaving the size and future of the development unresolved.

At a community open house Thursday, Oct. 22, AWS displayed a map outlining property near Lower Mount Vernon Road and Indian Mound Road, east of Mount Vernon. The company is evaluating the land but has not made a final site selection and continues to consider other locations in the county.

The next significant step may have less to do with selecting land than with determining what AWS would be allowed to build on it.

The Posey County Area Plan Commission voted unanimously Oct. 1 to recommend changes to the unified development ordinance, or UDO, including standards governing data centers and industrial noise. Those recommendations still require action by the appropriate county and municipal governing bodies. The vote did not approve an AWS development or authorize construction.

Keith Klein, director of data center supply solutions for AWS, said the company is waiting for the ordinance process to advance before moving toward potential site plans.

“We’re going to pay attention to the UDO process that’s going through the planning board right now,” Klein said. “Once that particular process goes through, depending on what the results of that are, we’ll start the process of looking at potential site plans or showing if we have other properties that we’d like to look at and move forward in that particular way.”

Posey County commissioners have scheduled a public hearing for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, on the proposed changes for unincorporated areas. Residents may file written objections with the county auditor before the hearing. The proposal would require a separate approval process for data centers in industrial districts and establish standards for setbacks, noise, utility demand, environmental protection, construction and emergency services. For AWS, a central question is whether its operating requirements can fit within those rules.

__How quiet is quiet enough?__

Noise has emerged as a significant concern for AWS. At the commission’s Sept. 24 hearing, Mike Schopmeyer, an attorney with Evansville-based Kahn, Dees, Donovan and Kahn representing the company, argued that the proposed ordinance was too restrictive, according to the Evansville Courier & Press.

The county’s recommended standards would measure how much noise a new industrial development adds to what its neighbors already hear. Before construction, a developer would have to document daytime and nighttime sound levels near property boundaries and homes within 1,000 feet, then submit an acoustic analysis of proposed buildings, cooling equipment, substations and other machinery.

Once operating, a facility could not increase the measured sound level by more than 5 decibels above that preconstruction baseline. The proposal also sets an absolute ceiling of 65 decibels on the A-weighted scale, or dBA, which accounts for how people hear different frequencies, and separately restricts certain low-frequency sounds.

The two limits work together. If a neighboring property’s existing sound level were 40 dBA, the proposed increase limit would allow a total reading of only 45 dBA there — not 65. That could make compliance more difficult near a quiet home or farm than near an already noisy industrial site. The restrictions would also apply to new development in the county’s light- and heavy-industrial districts, not just data centers.

Unlike construction noise, much of a data center’s sound can continue around the clock. Computers produce heat that must be removed by ventilation equipment, cooling systems and exhaust fans. Backup generators add noise during testing and power failures.

AWS says its engineers measure existing sound, model how equipment noise would travel toward homes and other sensitive locations, and use quieter fans, intake silencers, sound-absorbing materials, barriers and enclosed generators to reduce it. The placement of equipment matters, too: orienting generators inward and separating buildings from homes can reduce sound reaching neighbors.

The map shown at the open house identifies residential areas near the property, but it does not show where buildings, fans, substations or generators would go. Those locations could determine which homes hear the most noise and whether the proposed limits can be met.

The general industrial rules would require sound testing 30 to 90 days after operations begin. Separate data-center provisions call for sound, vibration and lighting testing within 30 days of each operating phase, every three months during the first year and annually afterward, with additional testing possible after equipment changes, complaints or county requests. AWS says it also monitors operating facilities and can add noise controls, although measures incorporated into the original design are generally easier to implement.

Whether a campus could comply will depend on its layout and measured baseline sound levels.

__Electricity: Who would pay, and how much would be needed?__

Electricity availability is a factor in the company’s site search, and CenterPoint Energy has identified room for large new customers in southern Indiana. But having power available somewhere on a utility system is different from having the transmission lines and substations needed to deliver it to a particular site.

During a July 28, 2026, earnings call, CenterPoint President and CEO Jason Wells said existing capacity, transmission improvements and upgrades to generation facilities could allow the utility to serve approximately 1,500 megawatts of additional demand. He said CenterPoint was pursuing multiple prospective customers. That capacity has not been reserved for AWS, which has disclosed neither a Posey County megawatt requirement nor a building count.

CenterPoint also projected that attracting additional large customers could save residential customers approximately $250 million over 15 years by spreading existing utility costs across a larger customer base. The projection covers potential demand across southern Indiana; it is not a guaranteed savings estimate for an AWS project. New customers could also require costly upgrades, making the terms of their service agreements critical.

Klein said electricity and water use were among residents’ most frequent questions at the open house.

“They want to understand how our energy uses are going to be. They want to understand what our water use is going to be,” Klein said.

He said AWS intends to pay the full cost of the electricity and infrastructure its facilities require rather than shifting those expenses to existing customers, pointing to utility agreements in northern Indiana as examples. No equivalent CenterPoint agreement or site-specific infrastructure plan has been announced for Posey County.

__Water use: Efficiency and total demand are different questions__

AWS told residents its data centers rely mostly on outside air for cooling. Klein said a development comparable to the St. Joseph County campus would use about as much water annually as nine restaurants.

“With a deployment similar to the size of St. Joseph’s, we would use about the same as nine restaurants within that community,” Klein said.

That is a comparison with another development, not a projection for Posey County. AWS has not publicly presented a site-specific water-use study, identified a supplier or estimated peak daily demand for the land it displayed.

For southern Indiana, the company estimates that outside air could provide cooling for approximately 97.5% of the year, with evaporative cooling needed during the hottest 2.5%. When outside air is insufficient, it passes through wetted material; evaporation lowers its temperature before it circulates through the building. AWS says using water during those hours reduces electricity required for cooling by 25% to 35% compared with an entirely air-cooled approach.

The trade-off is concentrated water demand on hot days. A modest annual total would not necessarily tell a utility how much capacity it must supply at peak use. AWS projects about 8 million gallons a year for cooling at its Jasper County development, but that figure does not establish what a Posey County campus would need.

AWS says it evaluates supply capacity early with utilities, generally prefers utility water and considers recycled or reclaimed sources. It has not identified a Posey County water-service agreement. Nor has it specified where wastewater would go. Some cooling water evaporates; the remainder can circulate several times before dissolved minerals become concentrated enough that water must be discharged to an approved treatment or disposal system.

The importance of peak capacity has already surfaced in New Carlisle. An investigation by The Indianapolis Star described proposed wastewater infrastructure capable of discharging up to 1.6 million gallons per day. That was a proposed maximum discharge capacity, not measured daily use, and should not be confused with annual cooling-water projections.

The recommended UDO would require developers to document water sources, projected demand, wastewater handling, infrastructure needs and possible reclaimed-water use. AWS says it would pay for infrastructure its development requires. In St. Joseph County, it is funding approximately $114 million in water and sewer improvements, including pipelines, pumping, storage and treatment upgrades. In Jasper County, it has committed another $25 million to expand public water service in Wheatfield Township, separate from facilities directly serving its campus.

AWS also cites its global water usage effectiveness, a measure of water withdrawn per unit of electricity used by computing equipment. For 2025, it reported 0.12 liters per kilowatt-hour, a 52% efficiency improvement since 2021 and 20% from 2024, against an industry benchmark it calculates at 0.84. Its claim of being roughly seven times more efficient depends partly on converting a published water-consumption benchmark to estimated withdrawals using assumptions about cooling systems; it is not a direct comparison of identically measured withdrawals across all operators.

And efficiency is not total consumption. AWS reported withdrawing approximately 2.5 billion gallons across its global data center operations in 2025. That measure does not capture all indirect water demands, including electricity generation and groundwater removed during construction.

AWS says it was 75% of the way toward its goal of becoming water-positive by 2030. Three northwest Indiana irrigation, wetland and habitat projects are expected to conserve water or improve its availability and quality by more than 200 million gallons annually once fully operating. Those broader efforts do not establish that a particular water supply could serve the Posey County site or that AWS would fund comparable projects here.

__Backup generators and environmental safeguards__

A data center’s everyday electricity comes from the grid, but backup diesel generators are used during outages and testing. AWS says its generators average about 10 operating hours each annually — not a legal limit on emergency use. At one New Carlisle facility, Indiana air-permit records identify 234 critical diesel generators approved for construction in 2024, plus nine smaller units. That illustrates the possible scale of backup equipment, not the number proposed for Posey County.

AWS says Tier 4-compliant controls on its critical generators reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by more than 90% compared with Tier 2 equipment; the systems also reduce diesel particulates and other pollutants. Actual emissions depend on the number, size and runtime of the generators, while air permits evaluate their potential emissions under approved operating conditions.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, or IDEM, would regulate applicable air permits, equipment monitoring and reporting. Draft permits are subject to public review; IDEM has scheduled a Nov. 10 hearing on the air-permit application for AWS’ Jasper County development.

Posey County’s proposed rules would also prohibit backup generators as a primary power source, require disclosure of their number, location, fuel and testing schedule, and call for applicable high-level emissions controls and acoustic barriers. Routine outdoor testing would generally be limited to once a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. unless the county approved an exception.

Experience elsewhere shows why oversight matters after permits are issued. In a June 8, 2026, notice, IDEM identified air-permit violations at New Carlisle, including two 1,600-kilowatt generators where permits authorized 1,500-kilowatt units, missing construction paperwork and problems with emissions-control temperature sensors. The agency said it would not pursue legal action at that time and reported that corrective actions were ongoing.

IDEM also cited AWS in 2025 after a contractor disturbed wetlands without authorization at New Carlisle. The agency directed construction in affected waters to stop until the necessary authorization was obtained. AWS said the work occurred without its knowledge and that it notified regulators after learning of the problem.

A Posey County development could require additional review of wetlands, waterways, drainage, threatened species and archaeological resources by IDEM, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies. The proposed UDO calls for natural-resources and air-emissions plans, measures to avoid or reduce impacts, and outside technical reviews paid for by the applicant throughout development, operation and eventual removal. Those reviews would test a specific proposal; they cannot establish the site’s suitability in advance.

__Construction and surrounding properties__

Construction could bring changes well before the first data center opens: grading and foundations, heavy truck deliveries, building erection and a longer interior installation of electrical, cooling and computing equipment. AWS says it uses staggered shifts, temporary access roads, on-site traffic controls, truck washing, road sweeping and dust suppression to limit disruptions.

The proposed ordinance would require studies identifying construction routes, deliveries, worker parking, road and bridge impacts, and conflicts with school buses or agricultural traffic during planting and harvest. Vehicles would have to queue on the site rather than public roads. The county could document road conditions before construction and require financial guarantees for damage and repairs, including later damage from maintenance or expansion.

Drainage matters on the farmland south of AstraZeneca. Grading and buried utilities can interrupt field tiles or redirect runoff. The proposed rules require drainage and erosion-control plans, protection of existing ditches and tiles, and repairs to county-regulated drainage structures within 24 hours of damage.

Developers would also have to coordinate emergency response plans with fire and medical services. A 24-hour toll-free complaint number would be posted at entrances, and the county could intervene and seek reimbursement if legitimate construction complaints were not addressed within 48 hours.

AWS has not identified construction routes, daily worker or truck traffic, or a building schedule for Posey County. Depending on the eventual scale, contractors could create local demand for equipment rental, fuel, hotels, food service, cleaning, security and maintenance. How much of that business would stay in the county would depend on who receives the contracts; temporary construction activity should not be confused with permanent employment.

__What the investment could mean for Posey County__

AWS has announced approximately $33 billion in planned data center investments across three Indiana developments since 2024: $11 billion in St. Joseph County, $15 billion near Hobart and $7 billion in Jasper County. They are projected to create approximately 2,100 permanent direct jobs and support an estimated 18,000 full-time-equivalent jobs annually in the wider economy. The second figure is an economic-impact estimate, not 18,000 AWS employees.

St. Joseph County provides the most established comparison. The South Bend Regional Chamber reports more than $13.8 billion invested at New Carlisle, surpassing the original commitment. As of July 2026, the operation employed 1,056 full-time AWS employees; roughly 450, or 43%, lived in St. Joseph County and about 80% lived in Indiana. AWS reports average annual wages of about $77,000, and its incentive agreement requires average wages for qualifying jobs to reach at least 125% of the county’s average wage.

Those are operating jobs, distinct from construction employment. Data centers need technicians, electricians, electrical and mechanical maintenance workers, fiber specialists, security and logistics personnel. Some positions are accessible through apprenticeships or technical certificates rather than four-year computer science degrees. AWS works with Ivy Tech Community College and other partners, including through a four-week paid Information Infrastructure Pre-Apprenticeship preparing people for jobs with the company or contractors. Comparable Posey County training and hiring commitments have not been announced.

The chamber reports approximately 4,000 skilled tradespeople at peak construction, about half from the surrounding region, and attributes roughly 141,000 hotel room nights to activity associated with New Carlisle. A May supplier event connected nearly 100 regional businesses with AWS and its contractors. Those figures illustrate how construction can support hotels, restaurants and service companies, but those opportunities differ from permanent operating jobs and contracts.

The public revenue question is separate again. Billions of dollars in construction and equipment do not translate directly into property taxes. What local governments collect depends on assessments, state exemptions, abatements and negotiated payments. Tax abatements reduce taxes on qualifying new investment for a set period; communities may negotiate direct payments or infrastructure in return.

The company’s three Indiana agreements illustrate different approaches. In St. Joseph County, a $9.5 million community enhancement agreement supports fire and police needs, transportation improvements, water-quality monitoring and other priorities. AWS also pays property taxes under an abatement agreement and is separately funding water and sewer infrastructure.

In Hobart, city officials negotiated direct payments in exchange for a 10-year real-property tax abatement and a longer exemption for equipment. Mayor Josh Huddlestun said the city has used the revenue for home improvement grants, downtown businesses, public safety equipment, roads and parks. Officials favored the predictability of scheduled payments over relying entirely on future assessments.

In Jasper County, the development agreement calls for upfront funding and additional annual payments during the first decade of full operation. The $7 billion project is projected to create 250 permanent jobs. How those payments compare with forgone taxes and public costs is part of evaluating the agreement.

These payments, property taxes, utility investments and incentives are different financial categories. Assessing their value requires knowing what revenue local governments and schools would receive, what taxes they would forgo, when payments would arrive and who would remain responsible for roads, emergency services and other costs. AWS has proposed no investment amount, job count, tax abatement, payment agreement or local revenue projection for Posey County.

__Community investments beyond taxes__

AWS distinguishes development agreements with local governments from ongoing grants, school programs and employee volunteering. Adrienne Talbot, who joined Klein during an interview at the open house, said investments can continue after the initial commitments for infrastructure and public services.

“But then in addition to that and ongoing, we then are continually showing up year after year to invest in non-profits, to show up as volunteers, do all that kind of stuff,” Talbot said.

AWS reports more than $1.5 million in grants, sponsorships and community projects in St. Joseph County. They include a Think Big Space that opened in May at New Prairie High School, bringing robotics, coding, digital media and a podcast studio to a school corporation serving approximately 3,000 students; a playground at South Bend’s La Casa de Amistad; and support for Cultivate Food Rescue. Such grants and projects differ in purpose from infrastructure and public-service payments negotiated in development agreements.

On Oct. 2, Amazon, the parent company of AWS, announced Built Together, a nationwide pledge of more than $1 billion over five years for communities where it develops or operates data centers. Its goals include tuition-assistance access for more than 300,000 students pursuing certificates and associate degrees, expanded skilled-trades training, and energy-efficiency improvements at more than 30,000 homes and 300 schools or community buildings. The program also addresses water conservation and locally selected projects.

Those are national commitments, not promised spending, training slots or grants for Posey County. Talbot offered to provide further examples of how the company’s development and continuing community programs are structured.

__From an identified location to a proposal__

The Oct. 22 map also reflects a change from the location AWS considered earlier. At the Sept. 24 hearing, Schopmeyer said the company had moved toward land nearer highways and existing industry. AWS also lifted its nondisclosure agreement, identifying itself publicly as a prospective Posey County developer, and says it has stopped using such agreements with government agencies on data center projects.

The open house allowed residents to question company representatives and see a potential site, but it was not a development application. The map did not establish building locations or whether AWS controls every parcel within the boundary.

If the project advances, the proposed UDO would require parcel and ownership information, building layouts, utility plans, environmental studies and construction details, with another public presentation after a preliminary application. Selecting a site would not itself authorize construction; applicable local and state approvals would still be needed.

Klein said AWS also considers whether a community wants a long-term relationship with the company.

“I think the biggest thing we’re looking at is what we’re doing here today and making sure that we have a community that we fit with and a community that wants to work with us, a community that we can live with a long-term relationship with, and that we can build together and develop the appropriate relationships moving forward,” Klein said.

For now, Posey County’s next decision concerns the rules governing a data center, not whether to approve an AWS development. The company has shown where it is looking and what its projects have brought elsewhere. It has not yet presented a development whose actual demands, costs and benefits can be weighed here.