CHICAGO (WLS) — Back in February, it was reported by the I-Team that Illinois was home to 164 active data centers, with numerous additional facilities planned for the future.

Recently, Joliet took a significant step by approving the construction of a major data center in the area.

This decision followed extensive public discussions where community members voiced their opinions. Local officials in Joliet highlighted the potential boost in tax revenue and other economic advantages that the data center could bring.

However, some locals raised concerns about the environmental repercussions of such developments.

But what exactly are data centers, and why are some towns eager to welcome them while others remain wary? What fuels the opposition?

According to Brad Tietz, director of state policy at the Data Center Coalition, “A data center is essentially a facility that supplies the space, power, and infrastructure necessary for our daily online activities. Given the surge in data demand, driven by households averaging 21 connected devices, we’re set to consume double the data in the next five years compared to the past decade.”

When it comes to the types of jobs created by data centers, he says it depends on the size of the facility.

“There’s going to be technicians, service engineers, etcetera. The real value, especially for Illinois residents, is going to be on the construction side,” Tietz said.

In some communities considering data centers, residents are concerned about their water usage.

“The data center industry has been a large water user, historically, but by no means the largest compared to other industries. And if you look at how efficient the industry is getting, and I’ll remind you too, not every data center uses water. Some are actually using, especially in a colder climate like Illinois, the outdoor air temperature to help cool their facilities,” Tietz said.

Jen Walling is the Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Environmental Council.

She wrote in Crain’s that “Big Tech” is coming to Illinois and that the state isn’t ready.

“We don’t have the guardrails in place that are going to be necessary to protect our environment, to keep our rates low, to protect our communities and most importantly, protect our water,” Walling said.

She says the Alliance for the Great Lakes has put out a report where they’ve looked at water usage, and some data centers aren’t using much water.

“Some data centers are using up to five million gallons of water a day. These are huge water users, and they can be taking from different sources including Lake Michigan,” she explained.

“We’re also very concerned about air pollution and the energy usage, these are huge energy users,” Walling said.

She also explained the concerns for people living nearby.

“They need to be on with energy all the time. So, all of these facilities have backup diesel generators. And the residents in the [Aurora] community said that they could smell the methane gas that was being burned, the diesel gas that was being burned. And that’s particulate matter, it’s odor, so these communities face real consequences when something happens,” she said.