October 5, 2026 · Johnson · Marion · Bartholomew · Dearborn · Monroe · AES INDIANA · DUKE INDIANA

Amazon's Greenwood Robotics Plant and the AES Indiana Rate Increase Rehearing: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Watch

AES Indiana's rate increase rehearing lands in March 2027 while Amazon's Greenwood robotics plant doubles automation capacity. Track both this week.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Amazon is putting more than $100 million into a robotics manufacturing plant in Greenwood, Johnson County, doubling its in-house robot production, and the automation vendor you buy from today could end up losing business to Amazon itself if Amazon ever sells those robots outside its own warehouses. At the same time, AES Indiana's rate increase keeps adding to your bill in Indianapolis, Marion County, while the AES Indiana rate increase rehearing on whether AES disclosed its Google data center agreements waits until March 11, 2027. Neither decision is in your hands. The rehearing date is the one you can put on your calendar right now.

01Statewide

Amazon's Greenwood Plant Doubles In-House Robot Production

Amazon is building a 585,000-square-foot robotics manufacturing hub in Greenwood with 300 skilled jobs averaging almost $100,000 a year. Amazon has made its own robots since buying Kiva Systems in 2012, and its two Massachusetts plants already produce the Sparrow robotic arm and the Proteus autonomous mover.

For the huddle: If Amazon Robotics eventually sells systems like Sparrow or Proteus to outside warehouses, could we become a customer for that technology instead of competing against it through our current automation vendors?

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02Statewide

AES Indiana Rate Increase Rehearing Set for March 2027

Regulators approved AES Indiana's $71 million base rate increase 3-1 on June 17. Phase two, about $8.50 a month for an average household, lands in January, while the rehearing on the case doesn't happen until March 11, 2027, in Indianapolis.

For the huddle: Given that AES's approved rate base may already be built on outdated load assumptions tied to the Google data center deal, should we be pushing our industrial-customer representatives to formally weigh in before the March 2027 hearing instead of waiting for the outcome?

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03Bartholomew · Dearborn · Monroe

Duke Energy's Taylorsville Site Sits Beside One Company's Campus

Duke Energy Indiana named three 2026 Site Readiness Program sites on September 29: Taylorsville in Bartholomew County, St. Leon in Dearborn County, and 87 acres in Bloomington's Monroe County.

For the huddle: If a competitor or a key supplier claims one of these three Duke-readied sites first, does that change our own expansion or supplier-colocation timeline in Bartholomew, Dearborn, or Monroe County?

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04Statewide

Doral's Mammoth Solar Phase 2 Permits Clear in Northern Indiana

Doral secured construction permits for Phase 2 of Mammoth Solar, two projects totaling 1,100 megawatts, pushing the Indiana solar farm's total planned capacity to roughly 2,700 MW by a 2029 completion. CEO Yoni Hantis told Calcalist the project is an agrivoltaic facility combining crop cultivation and grazing with solar generation, feeding power directly into the PJM grid with no battery storage and, so far, no signed offtake contracts with data center operators; Bank of America and Truist Bank are serving as tax-equity partners on the $680-815 million (NIS 2.5-3 billion) phase.

For the huddle: If Mammoth Solar's 1.1 GW Phase 2 ends up selling power into the merchant market rather than under a locked-in contract, could that added regional supply ease pressure on our own industrial electricity rates, or are we still exposed to PJM's rising capacity prices regardless?

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Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: Will Amazon sell its warehouse robots to other companies? A: Amazon hasn't ruled it out, and Greenwood doubles the production capacity that would make outside sales possible. Ask your automation vendor directly where they stand on this before you sign your next contract.

Q: When does the AES Indiana phase two rate increase take effect? A: Phase two, about $8.50 a month for an average household, lands in January 2027, while the rehearing on whether AES disclosed its Google data center agreements doesn't happen until March 11, 2027. Budgeting off your trailing bills will undercount what you actually owe, since they don't include phase two and barely include phase one.

Q: What does the Duke Energy Taylorsville site mean for my labor pool? A: If you staff food or production roles in Bartholomew County, benchmark your turnover now in the roles that overlap with food production. Reported wages near $30 an hour at the future King's Hawaiian plant will pull workers before the plant even opens.

If you're weighing whether to get involved in the AES Indiana case directly, our guide to utility rate case intervention covers what it costs and what it delivers for commercial and industrial operators. We covered the phase two timing in more detail in AES Indiana's Phase 2 Rate Increase Takes Effect in January, No Matter What the SPARK Grid Grant Covers.

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