Ogle County officials say no applications for data centers have been received
Ogle County officials are reassuring residents that no data center applications have been received, while actively working to update special use conditions and develop a new ordinance to regulate future data center developments. Residents voiced strong opposition at a board meeting, citing environmental concerns and requesting a formal pause on development discussions.
Ogle County officials, led by Board Chairman Bruce Larson, sought to reassure residents that no formal applications for data centers have been received in the county. Larson emphasized that the county is proactively updating special use conditions to give the board more control over potential data center sites, limiting them to existing industrial zones, which comprise less than 25% of the county's land.
The county plans a transparent, public hearing process for any future applications and is not actively recruiting data center businesses. Officials are researching data centers in neighboring counties, consulting state personnel, and studying controls for water usage, water quality, energy usage, and sound emissions, with plans to schedule a community open house to discuss a new data center ordinance.
Despite the board's assurances, two residents from Oregon, Towner Reed and Karen Moura, spoke out against data centers during the meeting. Reed expressed concerns that data centers would "fundamentally alter our way of life" and reduce the county's rural character, referencing earlier discussions about a "hyperscale" AI data center near the Byron nuclear facility and job listings. She presented a study on adverse health effects and criticized board members for allegedly mocking residents' concerns.
Moura urged the board to prioritize the community and nature over "big business" and their marketing pitches for tax abatements, requesting a formal pause on data center development discussions to allow for further study due to potential negatives like loss of property values, noise, and environmental impacts. This opposition follows an August 2024 county board vote to rezone 524 acres around the Constellation Energy-owned Byron generating station to industrial, a move Constellation said was to make the area more attractive to large companies, including data centers, though no deal was in the works at the time.