HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS (HB5513 / SB4016, IL)

Regulates data center diesel / natural gas backup generators. Requires impact assessment in advance of data center construction in certain areas demonstrating non-disproportionate risk to risk to health, welfare, or environment of community. Prohibits government NDAs reagrding data centers. Creates fund to compensate for data center harms and support community enagement with data center approval processes. Data center projects need communit beneft agreements. Data center must make public disclosures about water and energy use, emissions, mitigation measures, etc. Public notice requirements during applications. Creates fund for energy assistance and efficiency measures and environmental protection efforts; funded by large data center fees. Data centers required to submit detailed water resources and scarcity plans, and usage reports, and pay Illinois State Water Survey to report on water resources impacts. Data centers to require water impact permits to operate and pay water impact fees. Allows data centers a discount on electricity costs for using new generation of clean energy. Similar plan for energy storage. Large data centers required to report water and energy usage annually; to be publicly published in aggregated form. Commission to study impact on rates for other customers. Electric utilities to develop flexible tariffs for large data centers to, inter alia, incentivise clean energy usage. Fast-track for approving data center clean energy projects. Utilities must prepare resource plan before signing contracts with large data centers and procure clean energy equal to the data center’s demand within 5 years.