Amazon Plans Data Center In Wheatfield, Indiana; Will Pay $1.25BN To Reduce Energy Cost Impact On Local Payers
By Georgia Butler of DataCenterDynamics
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seeking to develop a data center campus in Wheatfield, Indiana. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the cloud giant has purchased more land in India.
Located in Jasper County and southwest of Michigan City, Wheatfield is a small town and has a population of around 900 as per the 2020 census. AWS presented its plans for the data center during a recent open house at Kankakee Valley High School, as per a report from the Kankakee Valley Post News, in which it said it was looking to build a campus with up to nine buildings on a 304-acre plot of land.
The land in question is currently owned by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), with the Schahfer Generating Station located just a half mile away.
NIPSCO and AWS are in conversations regarding the project. The land is currently leased for agricultural use from the utility.
According to AWS, by locating the data center near the power plant, it would reduce costs related to infrastructure and transmission. Details about the project remain sparse, with discussions on going, but AWS is estimating an investment of around $7 billion. In addition, the project would increase tax revenue for Jasper County from around $1.2 million to more than $420m over the next 15 years.
Amazon will also pay $1.25bn to reduce the energy use cost impact on local ratepayers. The data center will use natural air cooling for around 98% of the year, so as to minimize water usage.
Speaking at the meeting, AWS president of economic development Roger Wehner said: "We want to go to places where people come in with eyes wide open and we can build a great partnership."
Should the project receive approval, construction is expected to begin quickly, with Wehner telling the audience: "We want to start growing with this community as soon as possible. As you can see, we’re already here. We’re already doing things. If it doesn’t work out, that’s okay, we’ll still love it. We won’t feel bad about a single thing we’ve done.”
AWS already has data centers in Northern Indiana, in New Carlisle, and is developing another in Hobart. The projects are part of a $15bn investment commitment to the area made by AWS in November 2025, in which the company said it aimed to add 2.4GW of capacity to the Hoosier State.
Meta, US Signals, DataBank, Netrality, and Digital Crossroads all have a presence in Indiana, with a host of developers looking to develop new campuses across the state. Microsoft and Google have both announced data center builds in Indiana, in Mishawaka and Fort Wayne, respectively.
Meanwhile, in India, Amazon has purchased a 10.61-acre land parcel in Ambernath in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for Rs 125.13 crore (~$13m), for data center development.
As reported by the Hindustan Times, the land was acquired from Lodha Developers, and the transaction was registered on May 26, 2026.
Amazon already owns an adjacent 49-acre plot, which it acquired in November 2024 from Macrotech Developers for Rs 450 crore ($48.35m). The company also acquired 38.18 acres of land from Lodha in Palava near Navi Mumbai in December 2024.
Plans for a data center campus at the site were revealed in April 2026. Up to six buildings could be developed, four of which will have seven stories and serve as data centers. The remaining two buildings will have two stories and be used to support the electrical and water needs of the data centers. The data centers will have a capacity of 473MW.
In December 2025, Amazon committed to investing $35bn in India, including in data centers and AI infrastructure. Earlier that year, AWS revealed plans to spend $8.3bn in developing cloud infrastructure for just one of its cloud regions - AWS Asia-Pacific (Mumbai).