Illinois Data Center Intel

Recent Illinois data center news

• Jun 24, 2026

  Construction employment rises in 30 states over past year, AGC reports

  The Associated General Contractors of America reported that construction employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia between May 2025 and May 2026.

  • Main announcement: AGC reported state construction employment increased in 30 states and D.C. between May 2025 and May 2026; Texas added 18,700 jobs (2.1%), North Carolina added 13,600, Wisconsin added 9,000, and Wisconsin posted the largest percentage increase (6.2%); California recorded the largest annual decline at 13,100 jobs (−1.5%).
  • Monthly detail and risks: From April to May, construction employment increased in 23 states and D.C., declined in 22 states, and was unchanged in 5 states; monthly leaders included Texas (+3,600) and Wisconsin (+2,900). AGC officials Ken Simonson and Jeffrey D. Shoaf cautioned that opposition to data center projects and uncertainty over federal transportation funding pose threats to future construction job growth.
• Jun 23, 2026

  ‘Slap in the face’: Whitmer data center outrage indicates major election year issue

  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared at the June 1 groundbreaking for Oracle and OpenAI’s 1.4-gigawatt Saline Township data center, drawing widespread criticism from progressives and local residents.

  • Main announcement/action: Whitmer publicly supported the Saline Township project at the June 1 groundbreaking; the governor’s press release said the project will bring “billions of dollars to the state, create jobs and energy savings for residents, and protect air, land, and water”. DTE Energy contracts tied to the project include a roughly 19-year power supply agreement with a customer option to extend another 20 years, and a 15-year energy storage agreement (conditional approvals include cost-allocation and rate-design requirements).
  • Background and other concrete details: The Saline Township board previously voted against rezoning then later agreed to a settlement after litigation; Township officials have reported intense local opposition including threats and resignations. Public and political responses include >70% U.S. opposition in a May poll (Heatmap), congressional and state-level scrutiny (Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s husband is tied to the developer), and a scheduled Michigan Public Service Commission meeting on July 16, 2026 related to utility regulation and public comment.
• Jun 11, 2026

  Why data centers are key issue in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary

  Democratic Senate candidates McMorrow, Stevens, and El‑Sayed said they do not support a statewide data center moratorium.

  • Main announcement: None of the three Democratic candidates support a moratorium on data centers; instead they propose regulatory and fiscal measures — McMorrow calls for data center companies to pay for energy, grid upgrades, taxes, and union wages; Stevens emphasizes protecting ratepayers and introduced the Stop Unfair Electricity Prices Act; El‑Sayed supports banning state/local tax breaks and NDAs and released “terms of engagement” for data centers.
  • Background and details: A May poll found 7 in 10 Americans oppose data centers near their homes; Michigan has proposed state moratorium bills and a federal bill (S.4214) has been filed; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supports tax breaks and signed data center tax-exemption legislation; unions (UWUA, Iron Workers Local 25, UAW) have issued endorsements or taken positions relevant to candidates and data center projects.
• Jun 11, 2026

  Meta Announces PPA With RWE for 298-MW Texas Solar Power Project

  Meta has announced a long-term corporate PPA with RWE for the 298-MW Rabbit’s Foot Solar project in Bowie County, Texas.

  • Main announcement: Meta signed a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with RWE for the 298-MW Rabbit’s Foot Solar installation in Bowie County, Texas; the project began onsite construction earlier in 2026 and is expected online by year-end 2027, intended to support Meta’s goal of matching its operations with 100% clean energy. This is the fourth PPA between Meta and RWE since 2024 and brings their combined agreements to 872 MW (previous projects: 274-MW Emily Solar, 100-MW Lafitte Solar, 200-MW Waterloo Solar).
  • Background and implementation details: RWE estimates the project will create approximately 200 local construction jobs and generate long-term tax revenue for local services (schools, technical education programs, emergency services, road maintenance); RWE reports 13 GW of U.S. generation capacity in operation across 27 states and plans to add 9 GW of net new capacity by 2031.
• Jun 10, 2026

  Demand-response programs can lower utility bills, but beware of on-site power restrictions, experts say

  Virginia lawmakers enacted a law directing Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to create demand-response programs for large energy customers and to expand utility procurement of energy storage.

  • Main action: The law requires utilities Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to offer demand-response programs for customers with an electric load of 25 megawatts or more, and directs utilities to procure more than 21,000 megawatts of power from facilities’ energy storage systems by 2045; the Virginia State Corporation Commission will work with an independent auditor to develop procurement criteria and review requests.
  • Background and constraints: The article explains federal EPA limits (100-hour annual use for non-emergency generator operation with a 50-hour cap for non-testing/maintenance) and an EPA interpretive letter that prevents generators in RTO/ISO territories (e.g., PJM Interconnection) from using generators for demand response under the 50-hour cap; retrofitting to Tier 4 emissions can cost $100,000 to $500,000 or more per engine, and EPA enforcement can impose penalties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars; the piece also notes a lawsuit threat from the Southern Environmental Law Center against xAI for on-site generator emissions (three dozen natural gas generators, capacity 421 MW, potential >2,000 tons NOx/year).
• Jun 10, 2026

  The General Assembly Must Prioritize People Over Data Centers

  Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) is calling on Virginia legislators to pause new data center approvals and end the sales tax exemption during the June budget negotiations.

  • Main action: PEC urges the General Assembly and Governor Spanberger to end the annual sales tax exemption for data centers and pause approvals of new data center projects so the state can plan for 51 GW of approved data center demand; legislators reconvene June 18, with a June 30 budget deadline.
  • Background and details: The email cites Dominion Energy’s agreement to supply 51 gigawatts, notes the tax break grew from $1.6 million in 2008 to nearly $2 billion today (~6% of Virginia’s annual revenue), references ~10 GW of operational IT load in Virginia, and points to recent pauses of tax credits in Ohio and Illinois as precedent.
• Jun 10, 2026

  Behind-the-meter data center gas plants will raise US energy bills

  Energy Innovation authors Jeffrey Rissman and Eric Gimon argue that data centers building on-site natural-gas power plants will raise energy prices for U.S. households and businesses and that policymakers should require data centers to supply their own clean on-site electricity.

  • Main announcement/action: The authors call for a “bring your own clean energy” mandate so data centers do not rely on on-site natural-gas plants; they cite concrete capacity examples including a Richland Parish, LA facility using ~2.2 GW, a Cheyenne-area project with a 1.8 GW first phase designed to scale to 10 GW, and a BloombergNEF finding that ~100 GW of on-site gas capacity is planned for U.S. data centers. The piece urges that data centers instead deploy wind/solar + batteries and enhanced geothermal to provide firm, fuel-free power.
  • Background and supporting details: The article documents that combined-cycle gas turbines are back-ordered 5–7 years, forcing use of inefficient turbines that increase pollution (citing an xAI Clean Air Act lawsuit), and describes policy tools to implement the proposal including “permit-by-rule”, pre-authorized renewable zones (Texas CREZ, Nevada Solar Energy Zones, Arizona Renewable Energy Incentive Districts), and mentions state laws that streamline permitting (Michigan HB 5120, Illinois HB 4412). It also gives examples of companies already using clean on-site supply (Google: 1.6 GW wind+solar with 300 MW battery; Amazon: 1.2 GW solar + equal battery storage).
• Jun 9, 2026

  From Tail Risk to Design Baseline: How the Grid Is Adapting to Extreme Heat

  POWER (Sonal Patel) reports that system planners and grid operators are now treating extreme heat as an assumed operating condition rather than a tail risk.

  • Main announcement/action: POWER summarizes that system planners and reliability entities (notably NERC and FERC) and operators are treating extreme heat as a design baseline, citing metrics such as EIA projection of ~1,610 CDDs for 2026 (4% above 2025), NERC’s 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment (net internal demand up 1.3% to 790 GW, and >58 GW of new on-peak capacity including 16.4 GW solar, 14.7 GW batteries, 6.7 GW natural gas, 1.6 GW wind), and FERC’s forecast of $46.81/MWh average wholesale price for summer 2026. The piece catalogues operational changes (hourly ambient-adjusted transmission ratings, dynamic line ratings pilots, ADMS/DERMS deployments) and emergency interventions (DOE Section 202(c) orders covering roughly 4,400 MW of extended capacity service).
  • Background and details: The article documents drought risks (FERC: 62% of continental U.S. impacted; Lake Powell inflow forecast at 13% of average), potential loss of up to 4,500 MW of Colorado River hydropower as soon as August 2026, rapid data center load growth (from 44 GW in 2025 to 55 GW in 2026, ~25%), and operational timelines (PJM implemented AAR on March 4, 2026; SPP expects AAR by Sept. 1, 2026; MISO full compliance by Q2 2028).
• Jun 8, 2026

  Data center news: Detroit takes responsible approach to data centers, Benson says

  Detroit City Councilmember Scott Benson announced the council-approved moratorium resolution to build a stronger regulatory framework for data center development in Detroit.

  • Main announcement: The council-approved moratorium resolution created a stakeholder group (labor, business, sustainability advocates) to draft a zoning ordinance by end of 2026; Benson emphasized no increase in utility bills for residents and community-driven local control for development.
  • Additional details/background:GOP state Sen. Jim Runestad introduced bills for a one-year statewide moratorium (may not receive a committee hearing); Erin Brockovich launched a national interactive tracking map for operational/under-construction/proposed facilities; Google granted $250,000 to the Huron River Watershed Council while planning a 1.5-million-square-foot Michigan data center that will draw 2–3.65 million gallons daily from the Great Lakes Water Authority.
• Jun 5, 2026

  New data center routing design cuts AWS networking energy costs by 40%, Amazon claims

  Amazon has announced it is rolling out a new routing architecture, Resilient Network Graph (RNG), as the default for most new AWS data centers.

  • Main announcement: AWS Networking Lab says RNG is now the default architecture for most new AWS builds (since April); it delivers 33% better throughput, requires 69% fewer routers, and is projected to cut network infrastructure electricity consumption by 40%. The first quasi-random network went live near Dublin, Ireland, at the end of 2024, with subsequent deployments and operational refinements applied in two additional sites.
  • Technical and implementation details: The design combines a Spraypoint routing algorithm (randomly spraying traffic then using waypoint shortest-paths near destination) with a new device called ShuffleBox to concentrate complex cabling; Amazon reports production validation against mathematical predictions. The article notes the efficiency claims have not been independently verified and that AWS plans to apply RNG to new data center builds rather than retrofitting existing sites.