The city of Rochelle has recently seen social media reaction to news of it talking with a developer about a data center potentially locating in Rochelle.

Through its Facebook page, the city has responded to questions and concerns raised by residents about the impact of a potential data center, and has scheduled a public meeting on the topic in Rochelle on Nov. 18.

That meeting will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at City Hall at 420 N. Sixth St. The meeting will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.

Resident concerns voiced on social media and at the Rochelle City Council’s Oct. 26 meeting have included impacts to utilities such as electricity and water, the amount of jobs the data center would create, noise issues, and what entity would pay for infrastructure costs.

A petition, titled “Reject plans for a data center in Rochelle, Illinois,” had 150 signatures as of Oct. 31.

“It’s crucial that we take a stand against this proposal and protect our beloved town from unnecessary harm,” Dawn Nance, the petitioner’s organizer, wrote on the site.

“The cost savings purported by hosting a data center are overshadowed by the risks and long-term undesired consequences it poses. Our voices, as residents of this town, must be heard and considered by those making these decisions.”

The city of Rochelle recently created a “Data Center Q&A” page on its website in an effort to address residents’ concerns. The city has not approved any agreement with any developer or data center. The city owns Rochelle Municipal Utilities, which would see it provide power, water and storm water services to a potential data center, which would procure its own power off the market and use RMU for billing and delivery.

The Q&A page said the proposed data center would use up to 50 megawatts of electricity. Rochelle currently has more than 90 megawatts of additional electric capacity available, according to the page. The proposed data center is not a “mega site” like those commonly seen in national data center developments, such as Meta in DeKalb.

The potential data center customer would pay an 11% power distribution surcharge and standard demand charges, and may elect to manage their own capacity and transmission costs. RMU’s power rates would not increase due to a potential data center because of long-term power purchase contracts and behind-the-meter generation it has in place, the city said.

A data center developer would be required to post a surety or bond to cover any purchased power or infrastructure obligations if it ceased operations or relocated. The data center would see a hard cap on electric use. If the data center needed more power than expected in the future, it would have to pursue a ComEd reconfiguration of transmission lines, the city said.

Data centers are large users of water, and the potential development in Rochelle would use 100,000 gallons a day with a closed-loop cooling system to minimize water consumption, the city said. RMU pumps 4-5 million gallons of water per day, with its largest current customer using 1 million gallons per day. A data center’s water use would be capped in a development agreement, the city said.

All costs of potential infrastructure and utility improvements would be paid for by the data center developer and enforced by a development agreement with the city.

Data centers are only permitted to locate in industrial-zoned areas. The lot under consideration is 75 acres and is currently farmland, the city said. The project would be subject to EPA requirements and the city can apply specific conditions or restrictions through a development agreement.

Any potential noise concerns would be addressed through a development agreement, the city said, including the use of muffling materials to reduce noise.

The potential data center would be located in the Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone and benefit from a 50% tax abatement for six years, as previous local large developments such as Americold, Mighty Vine, Wheatland Tube, and CHS Ethanol have.

The company name of the data center is not available at this time, and the city currently is working with a developer that would then work to bring a company to Rochelle, the city said. City officials have not been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements regarding the project.

It is anticipated that 25-35 full-time jobs would be created by the potential data center, with an average salary of $85,000 per year for the permanent positions.

Rochelle already is home to two data centers, Allstate and Northern Trust, which are smaller than the potential future development.

Elsewhere in Ogle County, Byron also may be a potential site for a data center in coming years. The Ogle County Board voted in August 2024 and 2025 to rezone a total of 709 acres around the Byron Nuclear Plant from agricultural to industrial use for Constellation Energy, the plant’s owner. Constellation is considering attracting industrial development such as data centers, which locate near power availability.

Rochelle City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said Oct. 15 that a development agreement with a potential data center could come before the City Council for a vote in the coming months and if approved, the build would be within three years.

The city’s data center information page said the potential project would strengthen RMU’s electric system and generate new local revenues such as property tax, utility tax, rate revenue and “other negotiated fees.”

“The data center would have minimal impact on police, fire, and public works services,” according to the city data center page. “It will provide property tax revenue for other taxing districts [schools, parks, social services] without increasing service needs.”