Indiana residents wait hours in red shirts to say one thing: No data centers in Posey County

In southwest Indiana, a crowd of residents — many dressed in red — spent nearly four hours waiting to say at a meeting that they don't want data centers in Posey County.

During Thursday's meeting in Mount Vernon, local boards opened discussion of zoning changes for those facilities, the Courier & Press reported.

What happened?

Data centers appeared on the agendas for both the Posey County Board of Zoning Appeals and the Area Plan Commission, prompting a large turnout from residents. Some shirts said, "Protect Posey County," and others said, "No Data Center."

Before most residents got to speak, county officials spent hours working through roughly a dozen pages of proposed revisions to the Unified Development Ordinance. Many attendees did not get their turns until nearly 9 p.m.

County officials repeatedly said no company has formally applied to build a data center there. Even so, Area Plan Commission President Joe Marvel said four groups have made inquiries about what zoning rules Posey County currently has for such projects.

Officials also said a moratorium would have to come from the county commission rather than the zoning boards.

Commissioner Greg Newman said the commission's stance remains: "We want to get the ordinances in place as soon as we can."

Why does it matter?

Residents voiced concerns about several possible effects, including the loss of farmland and added strain on local water supplies.

Speakers described dry wells and low water pressure and raised concerns about diesel generators and possible air pollution. They questioned whether a small-town emergency response system could manage a major incident at a massive server complex.

A 2025 release from the International Association of Fire Fighters said, per the Courier & Press, "Fire response to data centers is unusually complex due to the complicating factors at these mega sites."

Data centers are also closely connected to the rapid rise of AI, which can help utilities forecast demand and improve overall grid efficiency.

But at the same time, AI relies on enormous computing infrastructure that can consume massive amounts of electricity and water. That demand may strain local resources, raise energy costs, create security risks, and intensify community concerns if expansion outpaces planning.

What's being done?

Posey County remains in the rulemaking phase.

Marvel said officials expect one or maybe two special meetings before the proposed amendments return to a regular Area Plan Commission meeting for a public hearing.

Before that happens, the full amendments are expected to be posted online for residents to review.

Until county-specific standards are adopted, any future data center proposal would be handled by the Board of Zoning Appeals as an unlisted use.

That would leave the board setting terms around an individual project instead of putting general protections in place ahead of time.

As Wadesville resident Rachel Bow put it to the Courier & Press, "My standpoint is keep the power now while you have some. Make it utterly impossible for them to come here."

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