As the design on Yorkville’s first data center takes another step forward, the city is laying the groundwork for the complicated process of hiring contractors needed to pull off the high-powered engineering for these developments.

A critical component of the already approved 500 megawatt, 228-acre CyrusOne data center, with eight, one-story warehouses, is the installation of a 400,000-square-foot electrical substation.

The City Council approved a $149,600 contract for electrical engineering consulting services with Sargent & Lundy, LLC, regarding the data center’s medium and high-voltage electrical components. The contract includes 516 billable hours at $251 per hour.

“All costs associated with the contract will be pass-through expenses to the developer and will not impact the city’s general fund,” Krysti Barksdale-Noble, the city’s community development director, said during the Feb. 24 City Council meeting. “Timely engagement of a qualified consultant is essential to avoid delays of any plan reviews, testing or commissioning.”

Developers currently project the electrical substation to be completed later this year and the data center campus energization complete in early 2027.

Full construction of all the warehouses could take between 10 to 20 years, according to the developers.

“Given the scale, technical complexity, and safety implications of high-voltage transmission and substation systems, the city must retain specialized electrical engineering expertise,” according to city documents.

The energization phase of such a high-powered campus is described by city staff as “one of the most critical risk points in the lifecycle of a data center development.”

The work of the electrical consulting specialists is intended to compliment all the other inspection and review services conducted by city staff.

The city is planning to engage in similar limited-scope consulting agreements for each future data center project, according to city documents.

The city currently is entertaining more than a dozen data center campus proposals across 3,000 acres in the Eldamain Road Corridor.

The city said laying down the groundwork for consulting agreements now ensures future “consistency across multiple large-scale developments.”

The work performed by city staff includes services on low-voltage electrical systems. It also includes architectural and structural plan reviews, mechanical systems inspections, and site planning work.

The City Council recently passed more costly data center permit fees to cover the costs of increased city inspection work, including the necessary new city hires.

The city is looking to hire a full-time electrical inspector and a full-time mechanical inspector in the next few years, according to city documents.