Governor JB Pritzker recently halted tax incentives for data center construction in Illinois for two years due to energy concerns.
Photo: Geoffrey Moffett/Unsplash
Ireland has 134 data centers operated by 28 providers like Prescient Data Centres in Coleraine in Northern Ireland. Data centers are looking to expand in Illinois and environmental groups are trying to pass laws regulating them to prevent ecological and economic damage to the state.
by Judith Ruiz-BranchPublic News Service
CHICAGO - As data centers continue to expand rapidly, environmental justice groups are working to pass legislation to regulate them in Illinois. The state is a top-five market for data centers and backers cited the tax revenue and jobs the facilities bring to some areas. Lucy Contreras, Illinois state program director for the environmental policy group GreenLatinos, said the centers' increased demand for energy also brings concerns about utility affordability and environmental impacts for Illinois residents. She pointed out it disproportionately affects communities of color as more facilities are being built in or near low-income neighborhoods. "If we don't mandate that they bring their own clean energy and that they pay for their own costs, then who ends up footing that bill tends to be the communities," Contreras explained. Contreras noted legislation known as the Power Act, now in the General Assembly, would address the concerns by establishing accountability measures and mandating community benefits. She added the bill is one of the most ambitious for data center regulation. Advocates are aiming to pass it this spring. Data center developers heavily rely on nondisclosure agreements to build, manage and operate facilities. Mayra Mendez, executive director of the advocacy group Clean Power Lake County, said it often leaves local communities at a disadvantage. And as the proliferation of data centers has made people more conscious of potential effects, she stressed the Power Act would also require greater transparency. "We hosted a workshop specifically going over bills, and people were like, ‘My bills are going up because of data centers.’ So, they're seeing the direct links," Mendez recounted. "And I think sometimes other environmental issues are a little more abstract, but we're seeing the real impacts of data centers here and now, and people are just more aware." The federal government has identified data center development as a national priority and some states have offered companies incentives to build more facilities. But Governor JB Pritzker recently halted tax incentives for data center construction in Illinois for two years due to energy concerns.
