(Last Updated November 4, 2025)
Want to know more about the data center planned for our area? Check out this page: CyrusOne Sangamon County Community FAQ
At Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative (RECC), we hear you! We understand and respect your concerns about the data center being built in rural Sangamon County, near Lowder, IL. While RECC isn’t the owner or operator of this facility, we recognize the impact it has on our community. Our team is actively working with the data center operator, local township officials, and regulatory partners to find responsible solutions. As a cooperative, we’re always striving to balance the needs of our community with our commitment to providing reliable electricity to all our members.
Q: Do data centers pay the same rate for electricity as homes or businesses?
A: RECC works with many industrial members, and each has a unique agreement based on their operations. Just like we don’t share details about individual residential accounts, we don’t disclose the specifics of these contracts. Data centers have special rates tied directly to market prices, which are set independently of our regular member rates.
Q: Why would RECC want data centers as members?
A: RECC provides electricity to any approved member, including commercial and industrial businesses. Data centers use a lot of electricity consistently, which brings in extra revenue. This helps us cover our system costs and keeps rates stable for all our members in the long run.
Q: Is RECC involved in approving or permitting these data centers?
A: No, those decisions are handled by local governments. RECC’s role begins when a facility requests electric service and passes the necessary inspections.
Q: What about concerns with noise, especially near homes and schools?
A:While RECC doesn’t control how these facilities operate, and we can’t stop service because of noise concerns, we absolutely understand and take your concerns seriously. We’re talking with local officials and other groups to support efforts that address these impacts. Additionally, this site is situated adjacent to the existing Double Black Diamond Solar facility and isn’t located near any residential areas.
Q: Is RECC doing anything in response to these concerns?
A: We’re actively engaged in conversations with local officials and the data center operator to support responsible solutions. While we don’t control facility operations, we are committed to sharing your concerns and advocating for outcomes that are best for our community.
Q: Does the data center have the necessary permits to operate in Talkington Township and Sangamon County?
A: RECC provides electric service after a required electrical inspection is completed. All other permitting and zoning approvals are handled by the County and local township and are outside of RECC’s authority.
Q: Where does the money from data centers go?
A: As a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative, RECC doesn’t make profits for shareholders. Instead, all revenue – including what we get from data center operations – is reinvested back into the cooperative to benefit you, our members. Any leftover funds are returned to our members as capital credits. Data centers contribute significantly to our electricity sales, which helps make up for the overall decrease in energy use across our service area. This extra revenue helps cover the fixed costs of maintaining and upgrading our electric grid, which in turn helps keep rates more stable for everyone.
Q: If RECC encourages members to use less energy, why is it good to serve data centers that use so much?
A: RECC’s energy efficiency programs and rebates are designed to give real benefits to our members. We’ve kept these programs going and have no plans to change the benefits available to our residential, farm, and business members. While we promote energy efficiency for everyone, large operations like data centers help the cooperative in a different way. Their consistent, high-energy use helps balance out declining electricity sales across our system and brings in additional revenue that supports grid maintenance and helps keep rates stable for all members. Also, the cooperative buys its wholesale power through a long-term agreement with NextEra Energy Marketing, and power supply costs make up about 57% of RECC’s expenses.
Q: How much electricity do the data centers use compared to a typical member?
A: Data centers are considered large industrial customers. Their energy use is much higher than a typical home or small business, which is why they’re billed under different rate structures designed for high-consumption accounts.
Q: Will data centers cause higher rates for other members?
A: No, actually, it’s the opposite! Because these operations bring in extra revenue, they help cover system costs, which supports rate stability for all members.
Q: Do data centers use a lot of water?
A: For this, please see the FAQ detail from CyrusOne at the top of this page. Here’s what the developer says: “Our facilities use closed-loop cooling technology that minimizes water consumption. Our water usage will be comparable to a standard office building – primarily for restrooms and basic facility operations, not for cooling equipment. This air-cooling approach is standard across all CyrusOne facilities, which means we won’t be drawing significant amounts of water from local supplies.”
Q: Why wasn’t the community told about this or given a chance to have a say?
A: RECC doesn’t oversee land use decisions or public hearing processes. Those are managed by local planning and zoning officials. We encourage our members to stay involved in co-op governance and local government, and to share their input during township planning meetings or zoning discussions when new developments are proposed.
Q: Will the data center put a strain on the power grid or affect reliability?
A: This data center development and its added electricity demand were thoroughly reviewed against the connecting system from Ameren Transmission, as well as by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) regional planning group. These entities study to confirm that new electricity demands won’t negatively impact the electrical grid before they give authorization to proceed with construction. For this project, both groups confirmed that no reliability issues or transmission planning concerns were found. Data centers help maximize the use of existing electric infrastructure that might otherwise be underused at certain times. This makes the system more efficient and benefits all cooperative members.
Q: Where can I find more information about this project?
A: The Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance has many news articles and publications linked on their site here: https://www.thriveinspi.org/news-and-events/newsroom/