How are data centers powered?

According to the International Energy Agency, as of 2024 natural gas supplied more than 40% of electricity used by U.S. data centers, renewables (wind and solar) supplied about 24%, nuclear about 20%, and coal about 15%. The exact mix varies dramatically by region and power accessibility.

However, many hyperscalers have signed large power-purchase agreements for wind, solar, and increasingly nuclear power, and companies such as Amazon and Google publish annual carbon and clean-energy reports.

In Northwest Indiana specifically, expanded generation to serve large loads has been anchored in part by NIPSCO’s approximately $5.7 billion combined-cycle gas turbine investment at the R.M. Schahfer site in Wheatfield, Jasper County.

To ensure existing customers do not bear the costs or risks of this data center–driven expansion, NIPSCO structured the buildout through its GenCo model — a first-in-the-nation framework approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in late 2025 that isolates new generation costs to the hyperscale customers themselves. Agreements with Alphabet and Amazon under this model are projected to deliver roughly $1.25 billion in aggregate savings and bill credits to existing NIPSCO ratepayers.