Data Centers in Illinois

Data centers are surging into Illinois, and they pose unique challenges to our electric grid, our communities, and our water; their demand for an immense amount of 24/7/365 electricity has already wreaked havoc on our electric bills, and will continue to do so without policy action. 

Water is among the biggest reasons to be concerned. In a time when Illinois is experiencing water stress, data centers are a new massive water user with little or no transparency due to Illinois’ antiquated water use laws. Not only do data centers have the potential to use huge volumes of water on-site, but they also use water at the power plants that meet the immense energy demand of data centers.

Many existing data centers have failed to be good neighbors to their host communities, running diesel turbines for days on end to power their facilities and conducting important negotiations behind closed doors.

This unprecedented challenge requires a specific, thoughtful, and robust response to ensure that a once-in-a-lifetime technological upheaval does not overturn Illinois’s progress towards affordable clean energy, plentiful clean water, and resilient communities.

Protecting the Mahomet Aquifer

The Mahomet Aquifer is a shared resources that many of central Illinois’s communities depend on for safe, reliable drinking water. Its up to those communities to once again speak up to protect their water.

Counties can do their part by developing rules for large “hyperscale” data centers to prevent them impacting the Mahomet Aquifer (as well as other critical issues). Champaign County has recently passed a moratorium to develop new rules to address large data centers.

But protecting the Mahomet Aquifer will require statewide action. The POWER Act is proposed state legislation that would require large data centers to obtain a water impact permit from the Illinois EPA. The permit will require the data centers to demonstrate they will not have an adverse water resources impact. It also requires water efficient cooling systems, drought response plans, and more.