"The tech behemoth was planning to rezone the acreage for the data center, but then withdrew the plans at a raucous Monday meeting where the Indianapolis City Council was expected to vote on whether to approve the rezoning, according to NPR affiliate WFYI. Cheers reportedly broke out among the overflowing crowd when attorneys from Google said they were pulling out."
""We beat Google," said one unidentified woman, quoted in a X video posted by progressive group More Perfect Union. "For a long time, we felt like four people with cardboard swords fighting a monster but tonight shows that people power still rings." "This was do-or-die," another woman said in the video. "We came prepared to fight with everything we have against this data center.""
"But this may just be a blip in a continuing struggle; Google can resubmit the proposal in as soon as three months from now, according to The Indianapolis Star; protesters said they will be on the look out if the project comes back from the dead. "We're going to be vigilant," resident Andrew Filler told WFYI. "We're going to protect our homes and keep our community game built up.""
Google abandoned plans to rezone more than 460 acres in Franklin Township, Indianapolis, for a $1 billion hyperscale data center after intense local opposition. Residents protested over fears the complex would raise electricity prices for neighbors and deplete scarce water resources in a drought-prone area. Attorneys from Google withdrew the rezoning request during a crowded City Council meeting, prompting cheers from protesters. Organizers had mounted months of demonstrations and petitioning, and residents say they will remain vigilant because Google may resubmit the proposal as soon as three months. Other tech companies continue evaluating Indiana sites for data centers.
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