Take Action: Hoosiers shouldn't foot the bill for Big Tech's data centers!

Indiana leaders are welcoming data center development with open arms and that comes with unprecedented energy demand and likely higher electric rates for everyday Hoosiers.

Data centers use enormous amounts of energy and utilities and Indiana legislators are proposing keeping old, polluting coal online and building insanely expensive gas plants to power them.

Take action with the Sierra Club: Tell Indiana's electric companies, the IURC, and Governor Braun to say no to increasing electric bills to pay for dirty energy to power data centers!

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Hoosiers shouldn't foot the bill for Big Tech's data centers!

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Dear Governor Braun and Indiana Utility Leaders and Regulators, Hoosiers deserve transparent processes, clean energy, and affordable and reliable power. Charging Hoosiers for the costs for an onslaught of loosely regulated and speculative data center projects sets us up to have less reliable power, higher electric bills, and more pollution in our communities. We are opposed to extending the use of old, dirty, uneconomic coal plants and increasing the monthly energy costs of Hoosiers to fund the construction of new expensive gas plants solely to power data centers. Our electric companies planned a transition to less polluting power, this trajectory should be maintained to make our state a place where everyone wants to live, work and invest. Utilities and state leaders should focus on making our power more reliable by: - Deploying measures that decrease energy waste in existing energy infrastructure and focusing on renewable energy that can power our communities today. - Encouraging data centers to procure around-the-clock clean energy and incentivize the use of on-site battery backup, solar power and geothermal energy. Without encouraging these measures, data centers are utilizing on-site diesel generators which contribute to local air pollution. - Ensuring Big Tech pays for their power needs, not Hoosier families and small businesses by requiring data centers to have large-load tariffs with front-loaded costs or commitments prior to committing power resources. This will protect Hoosier communities from speculative projects and power additions. - Focusing on renewable energy that can be built today, not the use of speculative Small Modular Nuclear Reactors which will further increase electric bills and fail to meet our near-term energy needs. - Creating space for robust public participation and feedback on how the state plans to meet challenges associated with data centers. If unchecked, data center development will saddle Indiana families with higher energy bills and more harmful fossil fuel pollution. We need you to protect Hoosier electric customers and advance clean energy solutions instead of doubling down on dirty, expensive fossil fuels.

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"Data Center" by chaddavis.photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.