NiSource signs 20-year deal to serve Microsoft's Indiana campus with about 1,100 MW of new generation and 600 MW of contracted battery storage

What changed

NiSource announced a 20-year energy agreement with Microsoft for Microsoft's previously announced northwest Indiana data centre campus, with service expected to start in 2028. NiSource's generation company will add about 1,100 MW of new generation resources, and Microsoft funds the generation and transmission needed to serve its load. In connection with the deal, the generation company has contracted 600 MW of battery storage under a long-term tolling agreement, to be built by an AGP Group affiliate. NiSource says the structure raises expected savings for existing NIPSCO electric customers to about 1.75 billion USD over the life of its data centre contracts. That savings figure is the utility's own estimate.

Why it matters Editorial analysis

This is another utility tariff model where the large load pays for its own generation and wires, a structure regulators are watching as data centre demand grows. The 1,100 MW of generation and the 600 MW of storage are separate resources with different roles and should not be added together, and neither figure is the data centre's IT load. Buyers of storage and grid equipment in the region should expect procurement to run through the utility side, not the campus.

Questions a buyer should ask

• Which generation technologies make up the roughly 1,100 MW, and on what schedule do they come online relative to the 2028 service start?
• Is the 600 MW battery a dedicated resource for this campus or part of the shared pool for several large loads?
• What does the agreement require from the campus on load ramp, curtailment or ride-through?

Related records

• Technology Backup power and energy storage
• Operator Microsoft
• Category BESS & Energy Storage suppliers

A supplier link means the company is named in the story or offers this kind of product. It does not mean a contract unless the story says so.