Alton Steel Site Eyed for 200MW Data Center
TerraWatt is proposing a 200-megawatt data center on the 381-acre former Alton Steel mill site in Alton, Illinois. The Riverbend Technology Center requires city rezoning and a completed property purchase, while a public open house will allow residents to comment before the rezoning process advances.
St. Louis-based TerraWatt has reached a contingent agreement to acquire the shuttered Alton Steel mill and redevelop the 381-acre property into the 200-megawatt Riverbend Technology Center. The project would require Alton rezoning approval, an Ameren Illinois study and other due diligence before closing is expected in 2027. Initial work would include demolishing approximately 1.26 million square feet of mill buildings.
TerraWatt says it would fund the project without local tax incentives and expects the development to generate millions of dollars annually in new tax revenue for Alton and its schools. CEO David Daneshforooz said the proposal could restore productive use to a site whose closure eliminated 253 steel jobs. The company is also pursuing a separate data center in St. Louis, where residents and environmental groups have filed a lawsuit over noise, energy use and environmental review, while TerraWatt has sued the St. Louis Board of Adjustment over project conditions.