Facing strong opposition to a proposed $6 billion data center near Taylorville, a founder of Eagle Rock Partners told the Christian County Board he wouldn’t want to live next door to the center his firm wants to build.
But Ken Loeber added that the center, on farm ground two miles southwest of the Christian County seat, as well as the promise of 500 full-time jobs and the potential to generate $85 million a year in new property taxes for local schools and governments, would result in a “greater good.”
Loeber said it’s “for all of you to determine as leaders in the community” whether the benefits would be worth any noise, disruption to the serene rural environment and other downsides, proven or unknown.
“My hope and my prayer is that this doesn’t divide the community, and that you can make an informed decision,” Loeber said. “This is an emotional issue. Change is scary to people.”
Loeber, from the North Carolina-based development company, made his first official appearance in front of the County Board on June 16. Eagle Rock hasn’t yet submitted a formal land-use request for Meridian Technology Park data center to the county, and it’s uncertain when that might happen.
Also in attendance in the cafeteria of Taylorville High School was a crowd of about 400 people, almost all demonstrating opposition to the project.
Loeber said the proposed data center would require between 1,000 and 1,100 megawatts of electricity and consist of 10 75-foot-tall buildings that would be constructed in phases over a five- to seven-year period along Illinois Route 48 in rural Bear Creek Township.
Maureen Tarrant, 67, a retired registered nurse, said she lives with her husband, Doug, in the family home they built 38 years ago that is just over a mile north of the proposed 475-acre site for the data center.
She said doesn’t know how noise and traffic might increase but is worried.
“I love the place we live,” Tarrant said. “I don’t want it changed. It’s a fairy tale, and I don’t want it turned into a horror story.”
Loeber said Eagle Rock would consider compensating nearby residents for any inconveniences or discomfort.
Formal consideration of an Eagle Rock Partners proposal by the board and other county officials is months away, County Board Chairperson Bryan Sharp told Illinois Times.
Because of the potential economic benefits, county officials have a duty to listen to Eagle Rock’s proposal, Sharp said. But he added, “I don’t want this to be hurried.”
Sharp said it’s unclear whether county officials, after they solicit advice from outside consultants, would be able to make final decisions on any land-use request in less than a year and satisfy Eagle Rock’s apparent timeline.
Eagle Rock said in a statement that the earliest construction could begin is 2028.
It’s also unclear whether Eagle Rock would be able to carry out its plan to obtain all of the power required for the data center from the proposed and long-delayed natural gas-fired Lincoln Land Energy Center in unincorporated Sangamon County near Pawnee.
Loeber said Eagle Rock has worked out a purchase agreement with the power plant’s owner. But construction hasn’t even begun on the power plant, which would cost $1.5 billion or more.
Julie Friedberg, a spokesperson for the Lincoln Land Energy developer, New Jersey-based Kindle Energy LLC, declined to speak with Illinois Times by phone and said the company would respond only to written questions. The newspaper emailed questions to Kindle on June 17 and followed up with a phone message but hasn’t received a response.
Loeber told the Christian County Board he hopes Kindle can begin delivering power by 2029.
The Christian County proposal is the third plan for a large-scale data center to emerge in Illinois Times’ coverage area.
CyrusOne’s 630-megawatt data center, to cost $500 million and be built in southwest Sangamon County’s Talkington Township, was approved by the Sangamon County Board in April.
Hut 8 Corp.’s plans to build a 500-megawatt, $5 billion data center near Latham in Logan County has been stymied by the Logan County Board’s recent vote to establish a one-year moratorium on consideration of data center requests.
Loeber’s estimate of $85 million a year in new property tax revenue would result in $47 million in new funding for the Taylorville school district, which currently operates with a $30 million budget.
But Chad Coady, Christian County’s supervisor of assessments, thinks the company’s estimates are too high. The Eagle Rock data center would be one of the largest in the state.
Based on Coady’s initial investigation of assessments in Illinois counties with data centers and similar-size construction projects, Coady said it’s more likely that the Eagle Rock project would result in up to $22 million in total new property tax revenue for the county, with $12 million of that going to the school district.
An influx of $12 million still would be monumental for Taylorville public schools, he said.
Like the CyrusOne and Hut 8 data center proposals, the Eagle Rock plan would call for a closed-loop cooling system that would continuously recirculate water and not require frequent refilling.
But area residents questioned whether any water wells drilled by the company for sinks and toilets to be used by data center employees would cause other wells for homes in the area to dry up. That wouldn’t happen, Loeber said, adding that Eagle Rock has commissioned a study backing up his assertion.
Loeber said noise created by the data center wouldn’t exceed 55 decibels at the property line – louder than a refrigerator and softer than a normal conversation.
But nearby residents said they don’t want any additional noise disturbing their environment and disrupting existing businesses.
Caleb May, 44, a farmer who lives within a mile of the proposed site, told the County Board, “Nobody wants to live next to a 480-acre industrial site – nobody. I hope you don’t trade local families for revenue.”