Benton County, Indiana: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Center Township, Fowler and Oak Grove Township
Benton County is a power-producing county: the plants here serve load well beyond its borders. Benton County is home to Center Township, Fowler, Oak Grove Township and Oxford. 200 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Templeton Wind Energy Center, LLC (wind), the 7th largest pipeline among Indiana's counties. Next door, Jasper County has 448 MW of planned generation. Employers here counted 2,064 jobs in 2025, down 13.4% from 2019. Its power plants have 1,175 MW of capacity, 100% of it wind.
Cities and towns in Benton County
Benton County is home to Center Township, Fowler, Oak Grove Township and Oxford.
- Otterbein also extends into Tippecanoe County.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Raub, Templeton.
Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.
What changed in Benton County
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Indiana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 8,708 | 8,883 | ▲ 2.0% | 89th of 92 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,383 | 2,064 | ▼ 13.4% | 89th of 92 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,123 | $54,342 | ▲ 35.4% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 74 | 83 | ▲ 12.2% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.3% | 2.8% | ▼ 0.5pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 88 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | — | |
| Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 200 MW | 17% of today's fleet | 7th of 16 by size |
88 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly wind. Unemployment was 2.8% in August 2026, against 3.3% in 2019. Duke Energy Indiana, LLC is the largest utility serving Benton County, one of 6 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.75¢/kWh in 2024, below the 14.63¢ median for Indiana utilities. 8,883 people live here, up 2.0% since 2020.
Who powers Benton County
Net change in operating capacity since 2019: +88 MW. Colors follow the fuel legend above.
Utilities with service territory in Benton County
| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Energy Indiana, LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 796,265 | 12.75¢ | 31% |
| Northern Indiana Pub Serv Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 430,648 | 19.09¢ | 25% |
| Tipmont Rural Elec Member Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 28,885 | 16.07¢ | 22% |
| Carroll-White REMC | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,807 | 14.93¢ | 28% |
| Newton County Rural E M C | — | — | — | — | — |
| Warren County Rural E M C | — | — | — | — | — |
Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.
Operating power plants 5
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 1,175 MW | 100% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fowler Ridge Wind Farm LLC | Clearlight Energy Holdings LP | Wind | 588 MW | 2009 |
| Meadow Lake Wind Farm VI LLC | Meadow Lake Wind Farm VI LLC | Wind | 200 MW | 2018 |
| Fowler Ridge IV Wind Farm LLC | Pattern Operators LP | Wind | 150 MW | 2016 |
| Benton County Wind Farm | Orion Energy Group LLC | Wind | 130 MW | 2008 |
| Hoosier Wind Project LLC | AES Indiana | Wind | 106 MW | 2009 |
Planned generation 1
| Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Templeton Wind | Onshore Wind Turbine | 200 MW | Approvals received | 2027 | Templeton Wind Energy Center, LLC |
The Benton County labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 2,064 | $54,342 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 83 | $60,353 | 0.76 |
| Electric utilities | 36 | $175,936 | 6.44 |
Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.
Data centers and local rules in Benton County
No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Benton County. Indiana has 40 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: White County.
Benton County and its neighbors
Of the 7 counties that border Benton County, Jasper County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.
| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County | 8,883 | ▼ 13.4% | 1,175 MW | 200 MW | — | — |
| Iroquois County IL | 26,150 | ▼ 9.8% | 303 MW | 4 MW | — | — |
| Jasper County | 33,894 | ▼ 3.0% | 1,637 MW | 448 MW | — | — |
| Newton County | 14,188 | ▲ 0.1% | — | — | — | — |
| Tippecanoe County | 190,456 | ▲ 6.5% | 138 MW | — | 4 | — |
| Vermilion County IL | 71,259 | ▼ 3.9% | 521 MW | — | — | — |
| Warren County | 8,474 | ▲ 4.2% | 399 MW | — | — | — |
| White County | 25,164 | ▼ 4.8% | 1,838 MW | 400 MW | — | 1 |
More of Indiana
Benton County, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Benton County, Indiana?
6 utilities have service territory in Benton County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Duke Energy Indiana, LLC, Northern Indiana Pub Serv Co, Tipmont Rural Elec Member Corp, Carroll-White REMC. The largest, Duke Energy Indiana, LLC, charged residential customers 12.75¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What power plants are in Benton County?
5 operating plants with 1,175 MW of capacity. The largest is Fowler Ridge Wind Farm LLC (588 MW, wind).
How much new power is planned in Benton County?
200 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Templeton Wind Energy Center, LLC.
Are there data centers in Benton County?
The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Benton County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Jasper County.
Is Benton County adding jobs?
Employers counted 2,064 jobs in 2025 against 2,383 in 2019 (-13.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 74 to 83.
Does Benton County have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for Benton County. Indiana has 40 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.