First they came for large-scale housing developments. Then, it was logistics centers.
NIMBYs now have their sights set on data centers, and they are turning the tide against the construction of these massive endeavors. “Not In My Back Yard” is becoming the rallying cry across the nation for opposition to facilities which house computer servers, networking equipment and data-storage systems.
Protests by Grayslake NIMBYs and those abutting the village didn’t sway officials to postpone issuing building permits for the first 800,000-square-foot building planned for a 472-acre data center along Peterson Road, west of Route 83. At buildout, the data center campus, an $18 billion investment, will eventually have 18 stand-alone data centers totaling some 10.1 million square feet.
Few of us pondered data centers until these gargantuan storage facilities have come a calling in our backyards. Across Illinois, there are an estimated 262 active data centers or ones on drawing boards awaiting approval from local governments.
These buildings help run the Internet and are needed for business and our economic future. But they are heavy users of water and electricity.
The data-center debate centers on where to site these jumbo tech warehouses versus our increasing digital demands, especially the rise of artificial intelligence gathering. Holding up data-center development, needed to quench our thirst for increased internet access, could stymie innovation for anything we do online.
Grayslake’s controversial action did spur the Lake County Board earlier this month to adopt a temporary ban on new data centers in unincorporated Lake County. The moratorium will be in place at least until May 2027.
County officials aren’t the only elected officials taking a pause when it comes to data centers. Five other Illinois counties and nine cities are skeptical about the impact they will have on their communities. Avon Township and Round Lake Park voiced opposition to the Grayslake project, and a lawsuit has been filed to fight the data center.
The U.S. House of Representatives last week overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at setting a federal standard protecting Americans from increased electricity costs associated with energy-guzzling data centers. Tenth District Congressman Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, voted for the Ratepayer Protection Act.
The measure would require state utility regulators to establish rules to ensure communities do not pay for the costs of building new power generation, transmission lines and other upgrades to serve large-load data centers. The bill moves to the Senate while data-center developers maintain their facilities won’t raise our electric bills. Many doubt that claim.
“I will continue working to ensure data centers do not result in higher utility rates for customers and protect the communities in which they operate,” Schneider said in a statement. Energy costs for Illinoisans jumped last year by 15%, or about $200, he noted.
Polls have shown strong majorities of those surveyed oppose new data centers being built in their communities. New York is the first state to outright ban new ones, while similar offerings have been proposed in other states.
Some areas welcome data centers. Virginia has 570 data centers, roughly 25% of all U.S. capacity, according to Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center. There are an estimated 3,000 data centers currently operating across the U.S., according to the Pew analysis, while another 1,500 new data centers are in various stages of development.
Data centers also create thousands of jobs for those in skilled trades during construction. Once complete, they are usually staffed with between 100 and 200 employees, a study by the Brookings Institution think tank determined. Utility companies are also supplying jobs and infrastructure on transmission lines to connect data centers to power grids.
One way to make data centers more palatable in our backyards is for developers to pursue energy-efficient usage and smart water technology, like recycling. In 2024, data centers accounted for 4% of all power consumption in the U.S., with an estimate by the International Energy Agency that their energy usage will rise to about 8% by 2030.
Water usage to cool servers in the facilities, also is a concern. Data centers used up roughly 66 billion gallons of water in 2023, according to an analysis by the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Compare that to an estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey that Americans use 117 trillion gallons of water annually.
Lake County officials were wise to issue a halt to plans for data centers within their purview. County municipalities should follow suit until we see where this brave new technology is taking us during the next year.
But perhaps not in our backyards.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor, and editor. [email protected]. X @sellenews