Fort Wayne, Indiana — Indiana Governor Mike Braun proposes “all of the above” to meet artificial intelligence’s soaring electricity demands.
Solar, wind, natural gas, and nuclear.
While suggesting local rule is important, Braun did not rule out the possibility of a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) being built at the Google data center, which is currently under construction at 5801 Adams Ctr. Road in southeast Fort Wayne.
“I want to be on the leading edge,” Braun told WANE 15, “because SMRs have been proven. They are safe. It’s how we power our aircraft carriers and submarines, and they have many advantages.”
While Russia and China each have one, no SMRs are currently operational in the United States, but the $159.4 million SMR market in 2024 is expected to grow to $5.17 billion by 2035.
I&M, which provides power to Google, was quick to clarify that it has no plans to build an SMR anywhere near Allen County, but acknowledged the “turning point” that SMRs provide to the power industry.
“Although we are not developing an SMR at the Google location in Allen County,” said the press release, “we announced in January 2025 we are pursuing a Department of Energy grant to assist with funding the initial studies required for SMR development at the site of our existing Rockport Coal Plant in Spencer County, IN.”
Spencer County is located on the Ohio River, more than 200 miles from Allen County.
Google did not respond to an email request for comment, but its AI interface, Google Gemini, did not rule out the possibility either.
When a WANE 15 reporter asked, “Would an SMR go at the data center site or far away from the data center,” Gemini responded, “Small modular reactors are designed to be more flexible in terms of where they can be located. Some people believe they could be installed directly at the data center to provide a dedicated power source. Others propose building them further away, in a more remote location, and then transmitting power to the data center.
Braun said SMRs face a similar challenge to wind and solar, with some neighbors supportive and others opposed.
“It all has to do with AI,” he said. “It’s got a voracious appetite for electricity, and I think geopolitically, the U.S. has got to be at the leading edge of it.”
In his first extended interview with any northeast media outlet, the governor spoke with WANE 15 about:
- The relocation of a casino to northeast Indiana and status of a tribal casino
- The likelihood U.S. 30 will become a freeway or tollway
- Having hospitals divest ownership of doctors offices to spark competition to lower costs
- If SB-1 hurt growth chances for smaller Indiana cities such as New Haven
WANE 15 will air his responses all week on News at Six.
