At an Indianapolis City Council meeting on Monday, when it was announced that the tech giant Google was removing its petition to build an AI data center in the Hoosier city, residents in attendance cheered.
(For months, Indianapolis residents organized and rallied against the petition, which prevented the City Council from voting on whether to advance the project.)
As one celebratory young farmer told More Perfect Union (see interview below), “We beat Google.” She added, “For a long time it felt like we were four people with cardboard swords fighting a monster. But tonight it shows that people power still reigns.”
The proposed $1 billion Google data center would have been built on 500 acres of land and would have used an estimated one million gallons of water a day. The farmer added: “We farm three acres, so if there’s no water or [there’s] water contamination, I don’t have a business.”
Indianapolis residents have shut down a proposed Google data center.
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) September 25, 2025
The tech giant wanted to build a massive 500 acre facility, but people got organized and stopped them.
The $1 billion data center would've used one million gallons of water a day. pic.twitter.com/gUytDTTQMX
One of the 25 members of the Indianapolis City-County Council, Michael-Paul Hart, said: “My six years on the Council, I’ve never seen all the rooms filled to the max with people, with people waiting in the lobby.” He added, “I’m overjoyed with the amount of community support that came out for this.”
One of the residents who fought against the Google data center warned her fellow Hoosiers that the fight isn’t over yet. She said: “We’ve been told before that if they withdraw on their own, then they can come back in three months” and refile their petition.
Note: Also on Monday, Google announced that it is expanding its data center campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about 125 miles north of Indianapolis.
Data Center Dynamics reports, “despite multiple requests from local residents to hold a public hearing regarding the application, no such meeting took place.”
The company’s request to build on protected wetlands at its “Project Zodiac” data center campus was approved by the state’s Department of Environmental Management. According to the approved application, Google will purchase 2.48 acres of unforested wetlands and 1.58 acres of forested wetlands from The Openings Wetland Mitigation Bank.
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