Illinois Data Center Intel

Recent Illinois data center news

• Oct 12, 2026

  Voices: Strength in numbers. Tribal Nations are building energy sovereignty together.

  MTERA executive director Daniel Wiggins Jr. argues that Tribal Nations are deepening energy collaboration after federal clean-energy funding was cut, and he calls for greater public awareness and inclusion of Tribes in energy proceedings.

  • MTERA says it was founded in 2014 and now brings together 33 Tribes across Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to help plan, finance, and operate energy projects.
  • The article says MTERA aligned more than $62 million in federal funding in 2024 for residential solar in EPA Region 5, but the Solar for All program was terminated in August 2025, cutting more than $500 million for Tribal clean energy nationwide.
  • This is an opinion column in Planet Detroit’s Voices series, not a new project announcement; it also introduces Tribal Energy Voices as a platform for Tribes to tell their own energy stories.
• Oct 7, 2026

  Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows Agrivoltaics Project wins North American Solar Farm of the Year award

  The Piedmont Environmental Council has announced that its Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows is a co-recipient of the Solar Farm of the Year award. - The award is part of the annual North American Agrivoltaics Awards and will be presented on October 27 at Solar Farm House in Chicago.

  • The project is described as Virginia’s first crop-farming agrivoltaics project; it uses 42 solar panels on a quarter-acre portion of an 8-acre farm, generating about 130% of the farm’s electricity needs with a backup battery system for full energy independence.
  • PEC says the project launched in October 2025 and has hosted tours and workshops; the article also says Virginia’s grid may need to double or triple in the next 15 years due to data center-driven demand.
• Oct 7, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - October 6, 2026

  EESI has published a climate and energy newsletter summarizing recent congressional action, upcoming briefings, and related resources.

  • Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Sheldon Whitehouse, Mike Lee, and Martin Heinrich introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S.5653), a permitting package focused on transmission, grid capacity, and data center energy costs.
  • The newsletter also notes the Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act becoming law, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans Act being signed, the Senate advancing the Agricultural Act of 2026, and an upcoming Oct. 7, 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT online briefing on interregional transmission co-hosted with WRI.
• Oct 7, 2026

  Top facilities management conferences to attend in 2027

  Facilities Dive has published a 2027 conference list for facilities management, including events relevant to data centers, AI, energy resilience, sustainability and workforce development.

  • The list covers 22 events across the U.S., with dates and locations for major conferences such as ASHRAE Winter Conference (Jan. 23-27, Chicago), DCD Connect New York (May 17-18, New York City), Data Center World (May 24-27, Nashville), Realcomm IBcon (June 8-10, Tampa), and IFMA World Workplace 2027 (Oct. 13-15, Kansas City).
  • The article highlights recurring themes including AI in building systems, energy resilience and efficiency, cooling technology, cybersecurity risk, talent development, and sustainable facilities; it also notes that Data Center World, Greenbuild, ISSA Show North America and Data Center World Power are hosted by Informa.
• Oct 7, 2026

  Google enters massive 3.6-GW power deal with Constellation Energy

  Google has announced a long-term power procurement deal with Constellation Energy to secure 3,590 megawatts of electricity in the US’ largest power grid, PJM Interconnection.

  • The agreement includes a 20-year power purchase agreement for 890 MW from multiple Constellation-owned nuclear plants, plus an additional 2,700 MW long-term supply agreement in PJM not tied to a specific generation source.
  • The deal is expected to support more than $4.3 billion of new investment and upgrades to 11 nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; first upgraded plant deliveries are expected in 2028. The companies said the arrangement responds to PJM’s proposed “bring your own power” approach for data center customers.
• Oct 6, 2026 · Google

  Why we're backing America's existing nuclear plants

  Google has announced a new long-term energy collaboration with Constellation Energy to add 890 MW of nuclear capacity to the PJM grid and deploy Gemini Enterprise across Constellation operations.

  • The agreement covers physical and digital upgrades at six operating nuclear plants across Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; the uprates are expected to be completed before the end of 2032 and add 890 MW of firm clean power.
  • Google says the deal is tied to its data center growth, supports roughly 4,400 existing jobs and 7,200 new construction jobs, and brings Google’s total enabled nuclear capacity to over 1.5 GW in the U.S.; it also references related nuclear efforts in Georgia, Iowa, and Tennessee.
• Oct 5, 2026

  Vertical Data Centers Face Cost-Proximity Trade-Offs

  Revitalization Unlimited has proposed a 20-story data center tower in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), but the project still requires approval.

  • The proposed facility would sit on approximately 0.23 acres, support 24 MW of IT load, and target a PUE of 1.25; Steve Austin said it would use 30 MW of on-site Bloom fuel cells and that total development costs are estimated at $183 million.
  • The related city development plan ordinance is listed as on hold until October 13; Austin said the project would include active ground-floor space, noise and generator-hour conditions, construction apprenticeships, and public reporting, with no tax abatement requested.
• Oct 2, 2026

  From Opposition to Buy-In: Tactics for Data Center Developers

  The article is a commentary and recap of guidance shared at the Data Center World Power event in Dallas about community opposition to data centers and how developers should respond.

  • It highlights transparency, power planning, and community engagement as key recommendations from speakers including Diane Sullivan of Hecate Energy, Dado Slezak of QTS Data Centers, and Alise Porto of Switch.
  • It references specific examples such as a QTS project in Iowa with a utility agreement to fix and subsidize community electricity rates for five years, and notes that Grow NELA has cut permitting timelines to 15 days in Louisiana.
• Sep 30, 2026

  The United States Department of Commerce and the Government of the Republic of Korea Announce Strategic Investment in Project Star, a $22.3 billion Energy Infrastructure Campus in Encinal, Texas, being jointly developed by Related Companies and NextEra Energy, in partnership with Lewis Energy Group

  The United States Department of Commerce and the Government of the Republic of Korea have announced support for Project Star, a new $22+ billion energy infrastructure campus in Encinal, Texas.

  • Project Star will be developed by Related Companies and NextEra Energy Resources with Lewis Energy Group; it includes 6.47 GW of natural gas generation to support an adjacent 5 GW data center campus.
  • The project is expected to be built in phases, with initial generation coming online as early as 2029, and is described as part of the U.S.-Korea Trade Deal and Strategic Investment MOU implementation.
• Sep 30, 2026

  POWER Honors Bloom Energy’s KR Sridhar with 2026 Executive Leadership Award

  POWER’s article announces that KR Sridhar, founder, chairman and CEO of Bloom Energy, received POWER’s 2026 Executive Leadership Award for advancing distributed, on-site power for data centers and AI demand.

  • Bloom Energy’s history and commercial milestones are summarized, including its 2001 founding, 2006 first field trial, 2008 commercial launch, 2018 NYSE listing, and later manufacturing expansion in Fremont, California.
  • The piece highlights major customer and financing relationships: Bloom’s arrangement with Equinix surpassed 100 MW in February 2025 across 19 data centers in six states; Oracle expanded its Bloom relationship in April 2026 to as much as 2.8 GW with an initial 1.2-GW deployment; Brookfield Asset Management committed $5 billion in October 2025 and raised that commitment to $25 billion in June 2026.