With a nuclear microreactor headed to Crane and Digital Realty asking for 1.5 gigawatts in Kokomo, where does our facility actually sit in the Duke Energy or NIPSCO interconnection queue over the next two years?

Both projects are drawing on the same regional generation capacity your plant depends on, so the honest answer is to call your utility account representative this month and ask directly where your facility's expansion or backup power requests rank against these two projects, rather than finding out during a future outage or rate case.

If Cleveland-Cliffs is moving customers onto index-linked, take-or-pay contracts behind the $850 million repricing benefit it disclosed this quarter, are we still buying steel on fixed-price terms?

Pull your current Cliffs contract and check the pricing mechanism language before your next renewal, because a shift from fixed to index-linked, take-or-pay terms changes how much of next year's steel price volatility lands on your budget instead of theirs.

Before we rely on a regional supplier like Sutton-Garten for dry ice or industrial cleaning services, have we confirmed they have carbon dioxide locked in under contract, not just sourced at spot prices?

Ask directly whether the supplier has a signed carbon dioxide contract or a reclaimer in place, since a 2026 feedstock shortage driven by ethanol and ammonia plant maintenance could push spot prices up sharply and get passed straight to you.

Should we treat Brightray's 10-megawatt Indiana data center letter of intent as a real project, given it has no disclosed site or partner?

Not yet. The only milestone that matters is whether the unnamed partner issues a purchase order by Nov. 15, 2026, and until that happens, the letter of intent is a corporate announcement, not a construction commitment.

Manufacturing News TEG Daily

October 22, 2026 · Martin · Howard · Lake · Porter · NIPSCO · DUKE INDIANA

Indiana Grid Capacity Tightens as Crane Lands a Microreactor and Kokomo Pitches a 1.5-Gigawatt Data Center

A Crane nuclear microreactor, Kokomo's 1.5-gigawatt data center bid, and a third Burns Harbor furnace delay show how fast Indiana grid capacity is disappearing.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

The U.S. Navy selected Radiant Industries to build a nuclear microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane in Martin County, and Digital Realty proposed a 1.5-gigawatt data center campus in Kokomo that would draw from the same Duke Energy and NIPSCO generation Indiana manufacturers already compete for. Both decisions landed this week alongside a third delay to Cleveland-Cliffs' Burns Harbor blast furnace reline in Porter County, a new dry ice plant opening in East Chicago, and a vague letter of intent for a 10-megawatt data center project with no disclosed site. For plant managers in Howard, Martin, Lake, and Porter counties, the practical read is the same: Indiana grid capacity is getting claimed fast by very large, non-manufacturing projects, and your interconnection timeline and your steel contract are both affected by it.

01Martin

Radiant's Kaleidos Microreactor Headed to NSWC Crane in Martin County

The Navy picked Radiant Industries to install a 1-megawatt Kaleidos nuclear microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane, the first time the Navy has put an advanced reactor on a shore-based installation. The Department of War wants it running by September 2028 to protect Crane's microelectronics and weapons-testing work from grid disruption.

For the huddle: Should our skilled-trades and environmental-consulting capacity be positioning now to bid on NRC licensing and site-prep work at Crane, given the solicitation window is expected to open well before the 2028 deadline?

SourcesUS Navy Picks Radiant Microreactor to Power Indiana Base (thedefensepost.com)

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02Howard

Digital Realty's 1.5-Gigawatt Data Center Pitch Tests Indiana Grid Capacity in Kokomo

Digital Realty is proposing a three-building, 1-gigawatt data center campus on 476 acres in Kokomo, an investment Mayor Tyler Moore's office and other reporting have put anywhere from $1 billion to $3 billion, with completion targeted for 2033. The completed campus would draw about 1.5 gigawatts from Duke Energy, and the Kokomo Common Council already rezoned the site for data centers in September without adding stricter noise or utility rules, a decision that stands out because at least 28 Indiana counties and 10 cities, including Indianapolis through 2027, have passed data center moratoriums.

For the huddle: If this campus pulls skilled trades labor and drives up wages across Howard County the way comparable hyperscale builds have elsewhere, what's our retention plan for the next 2-3 years of construction activity?

SourcesDigital Realty proposes 1GW data center campus in Indiana (datacenters.economictimes.indiatimes.com)

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03Lake

Sutton-Garten Opens a 17,000-Square-Foot Dry Ice Plant in East Chicago

Indianapolis-based Sutton-Garten is holding a Nov. 11 grand opening for its new dry ice production plant in East Chicago, a 17,000-square-foot building that took $2 million in renovations and got knocked off schedule by the Aug.

For the huddle: Before we lean on regional suppliers like Sutton-Garten for dry ice or industrial cleaning services, have we confirmed they've locked in long-term CO2 supply contracts ahead of a potential 2026 feedstock crunch?

SourcesSutton-Garten Co. plans East Chicago opening (nwindianabusiness.com)

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04Porter

Cleveland-Cliffs Delays Burns Harbor Blast Furnace Reline a Third Time

Cleveland-Cliffs has pushed back the lining replacement on blast furnace C at its Burns Harbor plant in Porter County from mid-2027 to April 2028, the third delay since the work was first scheduled for 2025. The company disclosed the delay on its third-quarter earnings call, where it also reported steel shipments up 3% year over year to 4.2 million tons, even though shipments for the first nine months of the year are down 1.4%.

For the huddle: Are our steel supply contracts with Cleveland-Cliffs still fixed-price, or have we already been shifted onto the index-linked, take-or-pay terms behind the $850 million repricing benefit they disclosed this quarter?

SourcesCleveland-Cliffs has carried out refurbishment work on a blast furnace at its plant in Indiana (gmk.center)

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05Statewide

Brightray's 10-Megawatt Data Center Letter of Intent Names No Indiana Site

Brightray Veridian, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed BUUU Group, signed a non-binding letter of intent on Oct. 6 for a 10-megawatt prefabricated AI data center somewhere in Indiana, its first proposed U.S. project.

For the huddle: Before treating this LOI as a signal of real Indiana construction activity, should we wait to see if the Nov. 15 purchase-order deadline is actually met, given BUUU's recent stock split and the all-stock structure behind its Brightray acquisition?

SourcesBrightray Signs LOI for Planned 10MW Prefab Data Center in Indiana (news.constructconnect.com)

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