July 29, 2026 · Clark · Daviess · Sullivan · Union
Indiana Data Center Power Risk: Sullivan County Construction Cut the Tornado Sirens
Indiana data center power risk in focus: a Sullivan County crew cut power to tornado sirens as PJM grid costs climb, plus voestalpine, Kratos, and Workhorse.
The clearest Indiana data center power risk this week didn't come from an electric bill, it came when construction crews on a Sullivan County data center campus severed the power lines feeding the county's tornado sirens during severe weather, exposing a gap in how Indiana coordinates heavy utility work near critical infrastructure. That's the anchor of today's TEG Daily brief, which also covers a European steelmaker's tariff-hedge expansion in Jeffersonville, a completed hypersonic facility at Crane, and Workhorse's bet on mobile AI data centers in Union City. Here's what every Indiana plant leader should take into the morning huddle.
Sullivan County Siren Outage Exposes Indiana Data Center Power Risk
Construction crews on Potentia's phased $65 billion data center campus at Sullivan County's Heartland Industrial Park severed power lines feeding the county's outdoor tornado sirens during severe weather; emergency officials worked to restore the system and told residents to rely on phone alerts and weather radios in the interim.
The park sits on unzoned land with no statewide standard coordinating large-scale construction with existing critical-infrastructure circuits, and that gap now hands data center opponents a public-safety argument that is harder to dismiss than noise or aesthetics. With PJM's latest capacity auction clearing roughly $9.3 billion higher, data center load among the drivers, operators on that grid already carry the electricity-cost exposure, and new permitting friction could delay project and interconnection timelines statewide. Audit which of your facilities sit near active or planned data center construction, and stop assuming uninterrupted grid continuity while it's underway.
voestalpine Doubles Jeffersonville Frame Rail Capacity as a Tariff Hedge
voestalpine Roll Forming Corporation is completing a €70 million, about $78 million, expansion at its Jeffersonville facility at the Ports of Indiana site in Clark County, doubling plant capacity to 80,000 tons a year on a new line producing frame rails for Class 6, 7, and 8 trucks, with production starting this month under long-term contracts with two global truck makers.
Producing the rails in Indiana instead of importing finished structural components from Austria avoids the 50% Section 232 steel tariff expanded in June 2025, so the plant works as a tariff hedge as much as a capacity addition. ACT Research puts Class 8 order backlogs at a 36-month high, which tells you this line is coming online into real pre-buy demand tied to EPA 2027 standards, not a speculative window. If your own steel is still routed through import channels, price the domestic alternative before lead times tighten further.
Kratos Finishes $50M Crane Hypersonic Facility Ahead of Schedule
Kratos Defense completed its $50 million, 68,000-square-foot Indiana Payload Integration Facility at WestGate@Crane in Daviess County ahead of its end-of-2026 target. It can prepare up to six Mach 5-plus payloads at once, supports the $1.45 billion MACH-TB 2.0 program, and is backed by up to $18 million in state incentives and more than 100 jobs averaging above $80,000.
The Pentagon is elevating neighboring Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane to flag-officer command by October 1, 2026, which typically widens mission scope and program dollars flowing through the installation, and the addressable contract base for co-located suppliers. With the Prometheus Energetics rocket-motor campus standing up 30 miles away in Bloomfield, Kratos is building a vertically integrated Southern Indiana defense supply chain. If you run precision machining, composites, or advanced materials, assess your Tier 2 or Tier 3 positioning before the next MACH-TB task awards.
Workhorse Bets Its Union City Plant on Mobile AI Data Centers
Workhorse Group said it will build containerized mobile AI data centers at its Union City plant in Union County, targeting 2027 production and framing the line as a way to use manufacturing capacity and generate cash flow.
The company no longer owns that plant, it ran a $20 million sale-leaseback during its late-2025 merger, and its most recent annual report carries a going-concern disclosure alongside a $64 million net loss. The August 13 earnings call is the first forum where analysts can test whether any named data center partners or letters of intent stand behind the 2027 target. Treat it as the real proof point.
Questions for Your Morning Huddle
Q: Why are Indiana data centers raising electricity costs for manufacturers?
A: Data center load growth was among the drivers as PJM's latest capacity auction cleared roughly $9.3 billion higher than the prior year, and those capacity costs flow through to ratepayers including manufacturers on the PJM grid. Confirm which utility serves each facility and whether data center interconnection requests already sit in that utility's queue.
Q: What should Indiana operators check after the Sullivan County siren outage?
A: The outage exposed that Indiana has no statewide standard coordinating data center construction with critical-infrastructure power circuits. Operators near active or planned data center sites should audit their backup power protocols rather than assume uninterrupted grid continuity during nearby heavy construction.
Q: How does the Section 232 steel tariff affect Indiana manufacturers' supply costs?
A: The 50% Section 232 steel tariff expanded in June 2025 raises the landed cost of imported structural steel components, which is why voestalpine is localizing frame rail production in Jeffersonville. Indiana operators still sourcing steel or structural parts through import channels should model domestic-source alternatives now, because the tariff applies to finished imported components.
The Bottom Line
This brief
More from Clark County
Manufacturers Energy Grant Program
Free for Indiana manufacturers
Manufacturers from qualifying Indiana counties receive a free monthly 35-point audit of their electric bills for cost recovery and savings. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.
EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →