Indiana Utility to Supply 1.6GWh Battery Storage for Amazon Data Center Expansion
December 4, 2025
A major utility agreement in Indiana highlights the complex energy demands of the rapidly expanding data center industry, where the push for renewable integration must be balanced against immediate grid reliability needs.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) has filed a plan with state regulators to provide energy infrastructure for Amazon Web Services' (AWS) new data center campus in St. Joseph County. The cornerstone of the proposal is a substantial 500MW/1,600MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), designed to support the tech giant's operations. This storage capacity is equivalent to powering hundreds of thousands of homes for several hours and represents one of the larger BESS projects announced to back a single corporate customer's data center load.
However, the comprehensive energy package also includes a significant reliance on fossil fuels. NIPSCO's filing outlines plans for new natural gas-fired generation capacity to ensure a stable power supply for the data centers. This dual approach underscores a current reality in many power markets: while large-scale battery storage is increasingly deployed to manage intermittent renewable energy and provide grid services, dispatchable thermal generation remains a primary tool for utilities to guarantee the constant, high-capacity power required by massive data center complexes.
The deal signals a critical trend for the data center and utility sectors. As cloud computing and artificial intelligence drive unprecedented growth in energy consumption, hyperscalers like Amazon are becoming pivotal in shaping regional energy infrastructure. Their commitments can accelerate investments in grid-scale storage, which is essential for decarbonization. Yet, the immediate need for absolute reliability often leads to concurrent investments in fossil-based generation, presenting a strategic challenge for meeting long-term sustainability goals while supporting near-term economic development.
Source: energy-storage
