Land Use in Indiana

The Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED) contracted with a resource group within the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at the IUPUI campus to conduct a two-phase study to research the issues associated with the energy projects being considered in Indiana.

The study found that land use losses associated with energy projects is only a small fraction of all land use loss in Indiana.

"In the years between 2013 and 2021 almost three-fourths (68%) of lost agricultural land went to homes and neighborhoods. Most of the rest went to warehouses and factories (25%). Only about 5% of land use changes in this period went towards energy. This is within an overall loss of just 2%. Of the 21 million acres of Indiana farmland, about 0.4 million acres were no longer classified as agricultural during that 8 year period.

These statistics illustrate how small this issue is, when put into context (5% of 2%, or 0.1% to energy)." (pg.5, Good Questions Project)

The study concluded that only 0.1% of the land was used for energy, and this is within an overall 2% loss that includes all other losses mentioned above.

To reference the study or learn more, visit: IUPUI Sitallite Phase 1a FInal Report