Illinois Data Center Intel

Recent Illinois data center news

• Apr 1, 2026

  Six Emerging Environmental Entrepreneurs Selected for National Fellowship

  E2 and 1 Hotels have announced the 2026 E2 1 Hotels Fellows, awarding six early-career environmental entrepreneurs funding and support to implement projects advancing sustainability, clean energy, and environmental policy.

  • Main announcement: The 2026 E2 1 Hotels Fellows were announced on April 1, 2026, with six fellows each receiving $10,000 to execute projects addressing urban solar, community microgrids, K-12 climate and clean energy workforce development, data center siting and policy toolkits, and the environmental/social impacts of AI. The fellows named are Alex Hill, Alexis Cureton, Danielle Lee, Jolie Villegas, Nathaniel Burola, and Sonali Anderson.
  • Background and details: The fellowship is in its eighth year, started with a donation from 1 Hotels founder Barry Sternlicht and the Sternlicht Sustainability Fund; fellows also receive mentorship from E2 members and membership in E2’s Emerging Leaders program. The press release notes E2 members have collectively managed more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital and supported over 2,500 companies.
• Apr 1, 2026

  Contracts keep many facilities safe from near-term energy shocks

  Marcus & Millichap and building energy management executives warn the downstream impacts on commercial real estate from the Iran conflict are mainly still to come.

  • Main announcement: Marcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji and industry experts say that if the Iran conflict continues six more months, the resulting effect on interest rates and inflation could start to disrupt commercial property; energy-price impacts on facility operating costs are expected to be delayed due to multi-year energy contracts and utility regulatory processes. Key names and timelines: Hessam Nadji (Marcus & Millichap); Paul Krugman: oil transit takes four to six weeks through the Strait of Hormuz; Tom Flynn (Budderfly) on regulatory pass-through delays.
  • Background and details: Energy price moves cited include gas up about $1 per gallon in the past month and diesel up more than $1.50 per gallon (diesel reported surpassing $5.38/gal); many deregulated-state facility contracts run two to three years, New England has longer-term gas arrangements, and analysts cite the growth of data centers supporting AI and reshoring manufacturing as drivers of rising electricity costs. Flynn estimates many small/midsize businesses use ~30% more energy than necessary and older rooftop HVAC units can be ~50% less efficient than new units. The article is reporting analysis and expert interviews rather than announcing a new program or transaction.
• Mar 29, 2026

  AI's Arrival Complicates Big Tech Climate Goals, and Some Worry it's Locking in More Fossil Fuels

  The Associated Press reports that major tech companies including Google and Microsoft are acknowledging difficulty meeting their 2030 carbon-removal/carbon-neutral goals as rapid AI-driven data-center growth increases electricity demand.

  • Main point: Major tech firms are increasingly relying on natural gas and other fossil-fuel generation to power rapidly expanding AI data centers, putting earlier 2030 emissions/removal targets under strain; examples include two new natural gas plants in Wisconsin for a Microsoft data center, three natural gas plants planned to serve a Meta data center in rural Louisiana, and Google buying power from a natural gas plant at the Archer Daniels Midland facility in Decatur, Illinois with carbon capture and storage. The article reports companies’ emissions rose (Google ~50%, Amazon ~33%, Microsoft >23%, Meta >60%) and that data centers used ~4.6% of U.S. electricity in 2024 and that share could nearly triple by 2028.
  • Background/details: Analysts and groups cited include Wood Mackenzie, Clean Energy Buyers Association, International Energy Agency, Union of Concerned Scientists, World Resources Institute, Rhodium Group, and Uptime Institute; the piece notes natural gas accounted for >40% of electricity powering U.S. data centers in 2024 and coal supplied ~30% globally, that a backlog of grid interconnection approvals and proposed changes to renewable-credit accounting could complicate clean-energy claims, and that federal policy changes (cancellations of grants/permits and the ending of certain tax credits in July) under the Trump administration are affecting renewable deployment.
• Mar 25, 2026

  Welcome Katie, Anna, and Makhai

  Fresh Energy has announced three new staff and fellows to support its mission to equitably and rapidly decarbonize Minnesota.

  • New hires and roles: Fresh Energy welcomed Katie Maxwell as Associate, Electricity, Anna Edmunds as a Humphrey School fellow (University of Minnesota), and Makhai/Mahkai Hunt as the 2026 Capitol Pathways intern; these individuals will contribute to Minnesota-focused clean electricity, legislative engagement, and equity work. Katie earned an M.E.M. from Duke in 2025 and will work on Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs), data centers, and virtual power plants; Anna is pursuing an MPP at the Humphrey School and will track PUC dockets, energy affordability, and energy burden cap legislation; Makhai is a Macalester College junior and will work with Fresh Energy’s Public Affairs team during the 2026 Capitol Pathways internship.
  • Background and implementation details: The announcement references prior experience and institutional partnerships: Katie’s background includes work with Faith in Place, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, and Duke’s Nicholas Institute; Anna previously worked at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and will work alongside Shubha Harris on Minnesota PUC dockets and research including data center impacts on energy and water; Makhai will work with Brynn Kirsling and the ongoing Capitol Pathways program (hosted by Fresh Energy for eight years) to support legislative engagement and representation efforts.
• Mar 24, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - March 24, 2026

  EESI published its “Climate Change Solutions” newsletter summarizing recent analysis, events, and legislative activity related to energy grid upgrades, data center impacts, and climate information integrity.

  • Main announcement: EESI highlights solutions including reconductoring to expand U.S. grid capacity, coverage of data center noise and water use issues, and a podcast on climate data integrity; the newsletter also notes EESI hosted a Rapid Readout on the repeal of the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding (readout available via EESI).
  • Additional details and timeline: Congressional actions noted include passage/introduction of bills: H.R.2709 (Save Our Sequoias Act) passed House, H.R.528 (Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025) passed House, reintroduction of S.4096 / H.R.7921 (Rural Decentralized Water Systems Reauthorization Act), and introduction of H.R.7977 (Energy Bills Relief Act). Upcoming EESI events: Tracking Down Data on April 23, Water Infrastructure briefing on May 7, and EXPO 2026 on June 24.
• Mar 20, 2026

  Yorkville hires engineering firm to address air pollution concerns from data centers

  The city of Yorkville approved a consulting services agreement with Terracon, including a $10,000 retainer, to review air quality and emissions concerns related to planned data center developments.

  • Agreement details: The city approved a $10,000 retainer fee and a master agreement with Terracon for assistance reviewing air pollution questions; all costs will be covered by the data center developers. City Administrator Bart Olson noted the arrangement mirrors the city’s prior use of Soundscape for noise issues.
  • Background and project context: The announcement follows a previously approved noise pollution study and references Pioneer Development LLC’s 1,037-acre Project Cardinal; Yorkville is reviewing more than a dozen data center plans across roughly 3,000 acres in the Eldamain Corridor, with residents citing concerns about 10 to 20 years of expected construction and potential air impacts.
• Mar 13, 2026

  Preparing Enterprise Data Centers for AI Adoption

  The article provides analysis and planning guidance for enterprises on corporate data centre strategies to support AI and traditional computing.

  • Main analysis/action: The piece recommends that enterprises adopt a hybrid cloud/colocation/on-premises strategy and future-proof facilities (supporting air-cooled cabinets up to 35 kW and liquid cooling piping to enable 70–160 kW per cabinet later). It cites specific forecasts including a 2025 McKinsey report projecting almost $7 trillion in AI-related IT infrastructure spending through 2030 (broken into $3 trillion for data centers and $4 trillion for computing and telecom hardware).
  • Background and evidence: The article references surveys and reports (Uptime Institute 2025, BCG AI Radar 2026, Flexera 2025, AFCOM 2026, Cisco 2025) and provides concrete capacity/telecom considerations: AI training workloads often require 80–160 kW per cabinet and are sited in large, high-power campuses (sometimes remote, e.g., rural North Dakota), while AI inference typically needs 25–70 kW per cabinet and favors low-latency, high-reliability sites near corporate data and users. It recommends concrete planning steps (multi-disciplinary teams, third-party consultants, scoped milestones, cloud readiness analysis, and capex vs occupancy cost comparisons).
• Mar 13, 2026

  What's data center environmental impact? More fossil fuel pollution.

  The Journal Sentinel asked readers about Wisconsin data centers and reports experts warning that rapid data center growth is slowing grid decarbonization.

  • Main announcement/action: The Journal Sentinel solicited reader questions about Wisconsin data centers (more than 300 responses) and published reporting that includes warnings from Andrew Chien, director of the Center for Unstoppable Computing at the University of Chicago, that the rapid boom of data centers is slowing decarbonization of the power grid. The story is reported by Caitlin Looby and dated March 13, 2026.
  • Background and details: The article notes proponents cite “billions of dollars” in investments into state and local economies and construction jobs; it references a reader question from Sheryl Slocum of West Allis asking about environmental impacts and links to related reporting and documents (including an MKE Region PDF and prior Journal Sentinel coverage).
• Mar 13, 2026

  Illinois to data centers: Bring your own renewables and skip the line

  The Protecting Our Water, Energy, and Ratepayers Act (POWER Act) has been introduced in Illinois to incentivize data centers to build or procure new clean energy by offering fast interconnection and guaranteed access to the amount of clean power they procure.

  • Main action: The bill would give data centers a fast-track grid connection if they submit a clean energy plan that procures 80% of predicted annual demand from new clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2045, and it guarantees uninterrupted access to the amount of clean energy they pay to build or acquire; it also allows utilities to curtail facilities that fail to meet clean-energy thresholds during high-demand periods.
  • Additional details and context: The bill requires data centers to pay for transmission and substation upgrades, contribute to a public benefits and affordability fund (amounts set by peak demand), funds a compensation fund for community groups intervening in regulatory proceedings, mandates quarterly water-use reports and community-benefit agreements, and is supported by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and groups like Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists; the Illinois legislative session ends in late May and the measure will undergo consensus-building.
• Mar 12, 2026

  NTT DATA Lands 115 MW in US Data Center Deals as Part of $10B AI Push

  NTT DATA has secured nearly 115 MW of new data center capacity commitments across three US campuses (Gainesville, Va.; Chicago; Sacramento, Calif.).

  • Primary announcement: NTT DATA secured nearly 115 MW of new commitments, including more than 90 MW from a major hyperscale provider at its VA11 campus (Northern Virginia) and nearly 20 MW from three enterprise organizations (a financial services institution, a gaming platform provider, and a cybersecurity company). The company is executing a multi-year plan to invest more than $10 billion in data center infrastructure by 2027, targeting high-density compute, AI training/inference, and liquid-cooling deployments.
  • Background and implementation details: Over the past year NTT launched 10 new facilities across North America, EMEA, and APAC, adding more than 370 MW of IT capacity. Design specifics include hybrid-ready data halls, modular fan walls and CDU loops in 1 MW increments, and support for rack densities north of 200 kW per rack; the company evaluates grid availability and alternative power sources (on-site generation, natural gas, fuel cells, nuclear) for site selection.