Local
Grayslake data center draws scrutiny over power demand and nearby residents
Construction began in August on a 400-acre T5 Data Centers campus near Grayslake, with the company projecting major economic benefits and residents warning about noise and electricity costs. T5’s CEO says the project will build a substation and use sound barriers; Illinois’ governor has called for data centers to bring clean energy and help protect customers from higher bills.
Construction is underway on a T5 Data Centers campus of more than 400 acres near Route 83 and Peterson Road in Grayslake, setting up a dispute over the project’s promised economic benefits and its potential effects on nearby residents and electricity customers.
The development, located in the Grayslake Business Park, is expected to be Illinois’ second-largest data center. Construction started in August.
A report by Greener Impacts estimates the project will generate $9.94 billion in economic impacts statewide and $7.27 billion in Lake County. Through 2031, it projects $1.45 billion in tax revenue for Illinois and $952 million for Lake County.
But Michael Smith, co-founder of the Lake County Data Center Opposition Coalition, said residents are concerned about the facility’s proximity to Saddlebrook Farms, a 55-and-older community with more than 3,000 residents. He warned that the project could harm residents’ quality of life, citing the noise from its generators.
T5 CEO Pete Marin said the company conducts acoustic studies and uses sound-attenuation materials to reduce noise. He said the Grayslake facility would remain below applicable noise limits. During a generator test at another T5 site in Elk Grove Village, a reporter inside the building did not notice the sound, though a low, steady hum could be heard outside at the rear of the facility.
The campus is expected to use 1.5 gigawatts of electricity—enough to power about 1 million homes, according to the report. Marin said ComEd’s distribution system has sufficient capacity and that T5 will pay to construct a new substation for the project.
Smith, citing information shared by the opposition coalition, said ComEd attributes 60% of rate increases to data center growth in northern Illinois. That claim comes as state officials debate how to address rising power costs.
Gov. JB Pritzker said the proposed Power Act, introduced in the spring to help mitigate energy-cost increases, should return for consideration during the November legislative session. He said new data centers should bring their own clean energy, help keep community bills down and use closed-loop water systems, and that communities should be able to decide whether to host them.
Marin said the legislation was still being negotiated and called for a balance. The competing claims leave local residents weighing projected tax and economic gains against the project’s electricity needs and its effects on neighboring homes.