IURC Approves AES Indiana's $1.3bn Solar, Storage and Transmission Project to Power Google Data Center in Monrovia

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) has approved plans submitted by state utility AES Indiana to build a solar-plus-battery generation portfolio and a dedicated transmission line that will supply power to a Google data center campus in Monrovia, Indiana. The decision marks a significant milestone in the evolving relationship between hyperscale data center operators and regulated utilities, as states grapple with how to allocate the massive infrastructure costs required to serve increasingly power-hungry computing facilities.

The approval was granted under a 2025 state law that mandates large-load data centers cover at minimum 80 percent of the costs associated with the generation and transmission infrastructure needed to power their operations. Under the agreement approved by the commission, Google is expected to pay all costs associated with the project — a commitment that Commissioner Joby Jerrells noted exceeds the statutory threshold. "Not only does this agreement satisfy the statutory requirement, it exceeds it substantially," Jerrells said, citing AES Indiana's testimony that Google would pay for at least 100 percent of the costs.

The project comprises two standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with capacities of 200MW and 130MW respectively, alongside a hybrid solar-plus-battery installation pairing 130MW of solar generation with a 130MW BESS. A 10-mile (16km) 345kV power line will connect the generation assets to an on-site substation near the data center, which includes a planned 1,200MW substation. AES has said the total construction cost will be approximately $1.3 billion.

According to local reporting, Gustavo Garaviglia, CEO of AES US Utilities, said Google will pay $32.3 million for direct connection facilities, while $73.8 million in network upgrades will be included in AES's transmission rate base. The contract between AES and Google will last at least 15 years and includes several provisions designed to prevent cost shifting onto regular ratepayers should Google decide to scale back or abandon the project.

News that Google was behind the Monrovia development first emerged in October 2025. Earlier that year, an application was submitted for land located in Morgan Township, east of Monrovia, between Keller Hill Road, North Antioch Road, Indiana 42, and West Union Church Road. The site encompasses 18 parcels owned by ten different entities. Of the five buildings proposed, four appear to be large data centers, with the fifth being a smaller building east of the electrical transmission line.

The Monrovia project adds to Google's growing footprint in Indiana. The company is also developing a campus in Fort Wayne, having purchased 900 acres and committed around $2 billion to the project in 2024, with further expansion announced in September 2025. The IURC's approval of the AES Indiana plan reflects a broader trend across the United States, where regulators and utilities are increasingly requiring hyperscale operators to bear the full cost of the energy infrastructure their facilities demand, rather than passing those expenses onto ordinary electricity customers.