Sangamon County Approves CyrusOne Data Center Amid Electricity and Environmental Concerns
Sangamon County, Illinois, has approved CyrusOne's plan to build a data center on 280 acres of agricultural land, despite public opposition and concerns over rising electricity costs. The project raises environmental concerns about 'heat islands,' air pollution from 420 diesel backup generators, and potential impacts on local farmland and cattle. Experts and residents are questioning the long-term effects of such developments.
The Sangamon County Board recently approved a conditional permitted use for CyrusOne to construct a data center on 280 acres of agriculturally zoned land, despite a prior tabling of the proposal after hours of public comment mostly opposing the project. This approval comes as Sangamon County's residential electricity bills have increased by over 52% in the past five years.
Local residents, such as farmer Treg Caruthers, expressed concerns about the hyperscale data center's unstudied environmental effects on his cattle and farmland. Researchers, including Mary Willis from Boston University and Max Zhang from Cornell University, highlighted potential impacts like 'heat islands' observed in non-urban data center environments and significant air pollution from the planned 420 diesel-powered backup generators—a number Zhang called the largest he had ever heard of. CyrusOne, through Vice President of Communications Blair Felter, stated their facilities adhere to applicable health, safety, environmental, and land-use requirements but did not provide surface-temperature data.
Economically, Byron Deaner, the county's chief assessment officer, indicated that farmland values would not immediately change based on environmental studies unless actual sales reflect different rates, which might then prompt the Illinois Department of Revenue to reassess values. Jim Birge of the Sangamon County Farm Bureau noted that while research provides interesting theories, definitive data on the impact to farmland values is currently lacking.