Potential data center in Illinois village raises local concerns

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Residents voice concerns about heavy power use, water demands and the impact of a potential data center project near Essex after land sales to Constellation Energy, though plans remain undisclosed.

At a village meeting, Constellation Energy Vice President for Commercial Projects Elliott Flick opened the discussion with a prepared statement outlining the company’s position, stressing repeatedly that no project has been selected for the site and no customer has been identified.

“We haven’t decided on or announced any projects at this site because we currently don’t have a customer,” Flick told residents. “Data centers are something we could potentially pursue. Customers like that need large amounts of electricity and prefer clean energy. Other industrial applications are also possible, such as hydrogen production, and we’re exploring a variety of options.”

Constellation recently signed a contract with META to build data centers and notes that it prefers sites near substations and nuclear plants. The Braidwood nuclear substation is less than 10 miles from roughly 700 acres the company has purchased near Essex.

Flick said Constellation, which owns the Braidwood nuclear plant, bought the land because it’s flat, tied to the cooling lake, and large enough for future power expansion or industrial users needing “large amounts of carbon-free energy.”

Kylee Raney, an Essex resident and member of the Essex Coalition, said the company’s repeated emphasis that no customer or project has been identified mirrors what residents in other Illinois communities have heard.

“The script of ‘we don’t know what we’re going to build, we don’t have a customer yet’ is almost word for word exactly what Constellation told a town west of us called Marseilles,” she said. “It is almost verbatim what they told the town of Marseilles, where they also purchased an emerging technologies district.”

Raney said much of the land was sold by village board members or their relatives, raising concern as the board discusses an annexation deal that could grant Constellation special advantages, similar to a disputed arrangement in Marseilles that has already led to a lawsuit.

“Some of the things Constellation would get as part of this annexation agreement are demolition and grading pre-approval without requiring permits, limitations on FOIA fulfillment, and something called automatic additional annexation,” said Raney.

Raney argued that residents feel the company is “holding the village hostage” with promises, or threats, related to tax revenue.

“Constellation bought land that spans both the village of Essex and the county, so the property is split between jurisdictions. They’re now pushing for an annexation agreement to consolidate everything under a single tax ID,” Raney said. “Essentially, they’re telling the village to either annex the acreage and give them that unified tax ID, in exchange for whatever tax revenue they’re offering, or they’ll pursue a single tax ID by de-annexing the village parcels and shifting all that tax revenue to the county.”

Flick said a project on the site could boost local economic development. He noted that the company already contributes $30 million in property taxes annually, funding schools, roads, essential services and nearby communities.

At the meeting, residents fear their local infrastructure cannot support a large industrial facility.

“We are in a very dry area in terms of the groundwater,” Raney said.

She noted that when a fire broke out at the High Point Golf Course, land later acquired by Constellation, crews had to haul water from multiple towns.

“They actually had to drive to get water from like 10 other municipalities near us because we do not have the fire hydrant system,” she said.

Raney said the Essex Coalition has launched a petition urging the village to adopt industrial protections the community currently lacks. She said the village first needs to restore its long-dormant zoning board of appeals, now being revived as Constellation seeks rezoning for more than 600 acres.

With the board expected to be appointed in December, she said residents hope trustees will enact stronger industrial rules.