Power, water and worry: How growing data center concerns are being addressed locally and statewide

Data center development in Illinois faces growing regulation at local and state level as public opinion on the massive projects has shifted.

Once welcomed in the suburbs, potential operators are seeing greater pushback from residents and industry critics concerned about the impacts on water and electricity utilities as well as the role of data centers in artificial intelligence.

For instance, Aurora recently put new regulations on data center locations, along with noise and utility use thresholds after a six-month moratorium on approvals.

While the industry has been slow to respond to criticism, they are finding support from towns where they have been embraced.

Elk Grove Village — Illinois’ data center capital — recently devoted a special edition of its community newsletter to its findings regarding the financial and environmental effects in an effort to assuage any concerns.

Mayor Craig Johnson also shared his views at a recent meeting about data centers at the Elk Grove Village Public Library. Representatives of the Sierra Club’s Illinois Chapter and the Citizens Utility Board were the only speakers invited by organizers.

“I asked them to tell me one bad thing data centers have done,” Johnson said. “They only said rates go up, and that’s not true. Our electricity rates are still the lowest in the country. No one has shown me the problem. They’re getting more carbon-efficient every year. They’re very generous businesses. They are no drain on a community.”

CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz noted the audience was mixed. Some wanted to learn, while others already were upset by the influx of data centers.

“Some argued not all data centers are the same,” she said. “There was a lot of debate. The key thing that has changed has been the rollout of AI technology. That’s something a lot of people are uncomfortable with. I think the data center industry has come to symbolize something in the zeitgeist. AI isn’t my main point. Our concern is the impact on the power grid.”

In February, a coalition of environmental and consumer advocates introduced state legislation to protect natural resources and consumers from data centers.

Illinois Senate Bill 4016, known as the Power Act, came shortly after a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists that suggests legislation to promote clean energy sources to meet the rising electricity demand from data centers. It also argues data centers should cover their effect on the electrical grid.

CUB supports the bill for many reasons, including its ban on nondisclosure agreements between communities and data center developers, Moskowitz said.

“State-level action is necessary,” she added. “Doing nothing is one of the ways to ensure worst possible outcomes.”

Johnson also supports measures ensuring data centers don’t become a burden.

“What they don’t want is to be unfairly picked on,” he added.

Johnson noted that environmental groups worry the growing power demand may delay Illinois’ planned fossil fuel plant closures. However, he believes this is only slowing progress, not stopping it.

Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, pointed out the PJM Interconnection that serves 13 states, including Northern Illinois, has been slow to add new power sources. However, data centers are helping drive the development of clean energy, he added.

Diorio praised Elk Grove’s campaign about data centers, saying it surpasses what the industry does.

“I do think it’s helpful to hear from the community — someone beyond the industry itself,” he said. “It’s always tough with an industry so large and diverse. It can be the state of politics today that people only want to hear one side of it.”

Hoffman Estates is home to two developing data center campuses, one by Microsoft and the other by Compass Datacenters. The latter boasts a cooling system not reliant on fresh water while the former uses water only when it’s especially hot out, Village Manager Eric Palm said.

He believes the industry is too diverse for broad statements or social media battles.

“The technology the data centers use is constantly changing,” Palm said. “That industry is in constant motion and constant innovation.”

Aurora is already home to five data centers with five more in development.

Alison Lindburg, Aurora’s director of sustainability, said new rules there are the result of some painful real-life lessons, including a data center whose generators create unacceptable noise.

While she supports the state’s Power Act, she believes local regulations are necessary and useful. Other communities have asked to see Aurora’s rules.

“The concern generally is that there are no regulations,” Lindburg said. “I think the public is starting to catch up. I think people are starting to see real impacts.”

The new regulations haven’t scared away developers. Two companies have expressed confidence they will meet the new standards, she noted.

While Lindburg acknowledges that data centers meet today’s tech demand, she is critical of AI, often seen as a key growth driver.

“I don’t think we need AI,” she said. “It shouldn’t take people’s jobs. Society has done well without it.”