CRITICALLAND DISPLACEMENT

Amazon Is Building Its Largest Data Center Ever — Right in Indiana's Farmland and Water Supply

No More Data CentersMay 25, 2026⌖ Indiana, USA

Early 2024: farmland in New Carlisle, Indiana. By late 2025: nearly 30 server buildings, 1 million AI chips, and enough power draw to consume nearly 3% of the entire state's electricity output. And Amazon is just getting started.

What's happening in Indiana is the most concentrated example yet of what unchecked AI infrastructure expansion looks like when it lands in your backyard — and when the company buying your land doesn't even want you to know it's them.

The Scale Is Almost Incomprehensible

Project Rainier, Amazon's hyperscale AI data center campus in New Carlisle, St. Joseph County, is already being called the largest AI data center in the world. Built to train and run AI models for Anthropic, the facility:

Sits on 1,200 acres of former farmland
Houses nearly 30 buildings and 1 million AI chips
Is projected to consume more than 2.2 gigawatts of electricity — nearly 3% of all electricity Indiana produced in all of 2024 (Sierra Club Indiana, Dec. 2025)
Is powered in part by coal and methane-burning facilities, supplemented by massive on-site diesel generators
Uses an undisclosed volume of water daily — with most hyperscale centers consuming up to 5 million gallons per day

Indiana does not require data centers to track or report their water usage. (Alliance for the Great Lakes, Aug. 2025) Amazon's own Project Rainier website does not disclose a single gallon.

They Used a Shell Company to Hide the Land Purchase

Amazon didn't just build on farmland — they quietly bought it through a shell company called Razor5 LLC, specifically to avoid public awareness and pushback before the deal was done. By the time residents knew who their new neighbor was, 1,200 acres had already changed hands. (Sierra Club Indiana)

This is not an accident. It is a strategy.

Now They Want $15 Billion and 2.4 Gigawatts More

Not satisfied, Amazon announced in November 2025 a second $15 billion investment in Northern Indiana — this time in the Hobart area — to build additional data center campuses adding 2.4 gigawatts of new capacity. Combined with existing investments, Amazon has now committed more than $26 billion to Indiana data centers alone. (About Amazon, Nov. 24, 2025)

Governor Mike Braun called it "a massive win for Hoosier ratepayers." Amazon says its energy deal with utility NIPSCO will save residents $1 billion over 15 years. What they don't mention: the grid is being restructured to serve Amazon's 2.4 gigawatt appetite first — with public benefit framed as a byproduct.

The "Renewable Energy" Claim Doesn't Hold Up

Amazon claims AWS reached a "100% renewable energy goal" in 2023 — through global renewable energy offsets. Meanwhile, the power plants actually supplying electricity to Project Rainier in New Carlisle are burning coal and methane. Diesel generators bridge the gaps on-site. Whatever is being offset elsewhere does nothing for the air quality in St. Joseph County. (Sierra Club Indiana)

What Hoosiers Are Doing About It

Resistance is growing. The Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana and Earth Charter Indiana are organizing communities across the state. The Sierra Club's Winding Waters Group has been documenting and publishing the impacts. Neighbors near Project Rainier have raised alarms about drinking water they rely on.

Indiana is not alone. This is the same playbook being used in Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Iowa, and dozens of other states: acquire farmland through shell companies, promise jobs, obscure environmental impacts, and build before locals can organize.

The turnip doesn't pull itself. Be the mouse.

Sources & Citations

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ORIGINAL SOURCE

About Amazon / Sierra Club Indiana / Alliance for the Great Lakes

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