AURORA, Ill. (WLS) — Data centers are moving in. They power everything from streaming services to artificial intelligence, but critics say they are noisy and can jack up your electric bills.
Now, the I-Team and ABC News are finding that more than 3,000 data centers are already operating nationwide, with at least 1,000 more planned. Some are in the Chicago area.
Companies point to economic benefits, but residents are raising concerns about noise and power usage.
When David Szala moved into his Aurora home in 2015, he knew he was by a data center.
“You can hear it as soon as you walk out. Fans, just constant with the noise,” Szala said.
But in recent years, the CyrusOne data center campus has expanded significantly.
Szala and his neighbor, Bryan Castro, both say they hear cooling fans all day and night, and sometimes, generators create more noise.
“You feel it in your bones,” Szala said.
Castro says the buzzing bounces through his backyard, which looked a lot different when he moved there in 2007.
“You can feel the vibrations in the house,” Castro said. “This was 25 acres of nothing but forest.”
Neighbors say CyrusOne put up a sound recorder to monitor noise levels and erected walls, but both residents ABC7 spoke with said the walls do not help much.
“The noise doesn’t drop down and get stopped. The noise radiates from above,” Castro said.
CyrusOne told the I-Team the noise issue is unique to their Aurora location, and it apologizes “for the impact this situation has had on our neighbors in Aurora. We take responsibility and are well underway with a three-phase engineering project.” The company says additional rooftop sound walls and other noise reduction equipment are on schedule for completion and “we anticipate continued improvement in sound levels.” The city of Aurora also says these steps should help.
There is also a concern over the rising cost of electric bills.
“Our electric bills this past year are probably 50% higher than they’ve been years past,” Castro said.
CyrusOne says it understands that higher energy bills are a concern and it “pays for all electricity we consume at rates established through Illinois’ regulatory framework,” and that it takes steps with utilities to “protect households from cost volatility” and “moderate costs over time.”
Illinois watchdog group Citizens Utility Board says the cost of improving the infrastructure for data centers can get passed on to consumers.
“Some of them use a decent amount and some use massive amounts of electricity,” said Citizens Utility Board Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz. “The way that our power system is regulated, you have to build infrastructure, and then, it takes decades to pay it off.”
Moskowitz continued, “What if the data centers don’t show up, or what if they are there for only a short period of time? Or, what if they don’t use as much electricity as they said? Then, they’re not going to be able to pay that off. And the rest of the customers, those of us who’ve been here, are left holding the bag.”
ABC7 has also been covering public meetings over proposed data centers, and there are questions about water use and the environment.
The I-Team and ABC News studied a private company’s Data Center Map and found that there are at least 4,302 data center projects across the U.S., large and small. Of those, 3,038 are currently operational, with another 1,203 either under construction or planned for construction. Sixty-one have acquired land.
In Illinois, there are 164 operating data centers, with another 81 planned for construction. The largest state project planned is in Yorkville. It would be 2 Gigawatts, and according to ABC7 data team, would use the same energy that would power approximately 1.7 million homes. That’s more than every home in the city of Chicago.
Industry experts say the facilities are needed for modern digital infrastructure and can benefit the economy.
“So, for poor communities that specifically need a big increase in tax revenue, data centers are really good for that. They’re really not very good for jobs. They create a lot of construction jobs, and then a few additional maintenance jobs. But they create very few jobs relative to the resources that they use,” said Effective Altruism DC Director and artificial intelligence expert Andy Masley.
The Illinois Pollution Control Board says that there have been no noise enforcement proceedings for data centers in the entire state, in 2025, and there are no open cases right now.
“They have to build these things to support what’s going with computers, but they need to keep them away from neighborhoods,” Castro said.
Illinois state legislators recently introduced a bill that could require data centers to reveal how much water and energy they are using. The bill could also limit the amount of energy costs passed on to consumers.
You can watch more on “Data Land USA: AI on overdrive next door” on Tuesday morning on “Good Morning America” and throughout the day on ABC News.
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