A typical new data center could use up to nine times more energy than all of McLean County combined, which creates both short- and long-term viability concerns about the energy grid in Illinois and across the United States.
During a presentation Wednesday at the Bloomington Public Library, residents heard about the reasons behind the rising costs of energy from Nick Hylla, executive director of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association [MREA].
The evening was co-sponsored by the Ecology Action Center.
"I've been the executive director of the MREA for almost 15 years, and in my entire time, I've never seen more interest in electricity than right now," Hylla said.
Hylla explained that the cost of energy has risen 125% in the past five years, and he expects that it will continue rise at a rate of at least 6% per year. He attributed soaring costs to multiple factors: aging infrastructure, war, the way states regulate utilities, costs being shifted from commercial sectors to residential sectors and yes, data centers.
Illinois has had data centers since at least 2009, but previous versions were smaller in scale. The new models being proposed are considered "hyperscale," Hylla said.
Hylla tracks data center proposals and said there are none currently proposed in McLean County. Existing data centers in Illinois use 20-50 megawatts of capacity at any given time. All of McLean County combined uses 200 megawatts of capacity.
"There is a proposed data center in Illinois, not in McLean County, that is 1,800 megawatts," Hylla said. "So that would be nine times the electricity use of McLean County."
In areas where these massive data centers have cropped up, energy costs have only gotten more expensive, Hylla said. Because of the high and uneven energy consumption of data centers, they also frequently lead to generator blowouts and can damage grid infrastructure. He noted that Tesla's Colossus data center in Tennessee is a common offender.
Hylla also questioned the viability of these new projects. He is concerned that many of the proposed data centers could become "stranded assets" if they fall through in any way. Due to the way utilities are regulated, consumers end up footing the bill for infrastructure investments, even when they fail, he said.
"The question is really about skepticism in the face of these proposals, because the money is saying we should build [data centers], but the reality is saying we shouldn't," Hylla said.
The total amount of artificial intelligence investment in the U.S. from 2013-2024 has topped $1.6 trillion, Hylla said. AI is a common driver behind data centers. In comparison, the Interstate Highway system cost $620 billion, the Apollo programs cost $250 billion, and the Manhattan Project cost $36 billion. [These numbers have been adjusted for inflation.]
Is solar a solution?
Hylla predicted that that homes, businesses and communities will increasingly be asked to participate in the electricity system to support its operation, by doing things like installing solar panels to contribute energy to the grid — and maybe even make a little money while doing it. Solar panels are low-cost, efficient ways to add power to the grid, he said.
In attendance at the presentation was Ryan Libby, director of subscriber acquisition at Power Market, a community solar management company. He works with communities across the country on solar farms.
"By and large, I'm seeing more and more people look for solutions like community solar to help," Libby said. "It's becoming a much more compelling argument to opt into a program like that."
However, Abby Scott, who represents Ward 9 on Bloomington's City Council, said the public is so concerned about data centers that they are also skittish about anything related to electricity, including solar farms.
"I have noticed that any time there are infrastructure upgrades on our grid, or talk about battery storage, folks are nervous," Scott said. "They are nervous that this is the signal that the data center — not a data center, the data center — is coming."
Scott said she understands the concern, but says there are no data center proposals in front of the Bloomington City Council at the moment.
She said she would not support a proposal at this time.
"There is nobody that is interested in rubber stamping anything right now," Scott said.
