Potential data center in Illinois village raises local concerns
[November 25, 2025]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – Residents voice concerns about heavy power use,
water demands and the impact of a potential data center project near
Essex after land sales to Constellation Energy, though plans remain
undisclosed.
At a village meeting, Constellation Energy Vice President for Commercial
Projects Elliott Flick opened the discussion with a prepared statement
outlining the company’s position, stressing repeatedly that no project
has been selected for the site and no customer has been identified.
“We haven’t decided on or announced any projects at this site because we
currently don’t have a customer,” Flick told residents. “Data centers
are something we could potentially pursue. Customers like that need
large amounts of electricity and prefer clean energy. Other industrial
applications are also possible, such as hydrogen production, and we’re
exploring a variety of options.”
Constellation recently signed a contract with META to build data centers
and notes that it prefers sites near substations and nuclear plants. The
Braidwood nuclear substation is less than 10 miles from roughly 700
acres the company has purchased near Essex.
Flick said Constellation, which owns the Braidwood nuclear plant, bought
the land because it’s flat, tied to the cooling lake, and large enough
for future power expansion or industrial users needing “large amounts of
carbon-free energy.”
Kylee Raney, an Essex resident and member of the Essex Coalition, said
the company’s repeated emphasis that no customer or project has been
identified mirrors what residents in other Illinois communities have
heard.
“The script of ‘we don’t know what we’re going to build, we don’t have a
customer yet’ is almost word for word exactly what Constellation told a
town west of us called Marseilles,” she said. “It is almost verbatim
what they told the town of Marseilles, where they also purchased an
emerging technologies district.”
Raney said much of the land was sold by village board members or their
relatives, raising concern as the board discusses an annexation deal
that could grant Constellation special advantages, similar to a disputed
arrangement in Marseilles that has already led to a lawsuit.
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“Some of the things Constellation would get as part of this
annexation agreement are demolition and grading pre-approval without
requiring permits, limitations on FOIA fulfillment, and something
called automatic additional annexation,” said Raney.
Raney argued that residents feel the company is “holding the village
hostage” with promises, or threats, related to tax revenue.
“Constellation bought land that spans both the village of Essex and
the county, so the property is split between jurisdictions. They’re
now pushing for an annexation agreement to consolidate everything
under a single tax ID,” Raney said. “Essentially, they’re telling
the village to either annex the acreage and give them that unified
tax ID, in exchange for whatever tax revenue they’re offering, or
they’ll pursue a single tax ID by de-annexing the village parcels
and shifting all that tax revenue to the county.”
Flick said a project on the site could boost local economic
development. He noted that the company already contributes $30
million in property taxes annually, funding schools, roads,
essential services and nearby communities.
At the meeting, residents fear their local infrastructure cannot
support a large industrial facility.
“We are in a very dry area in terms of the groundwater,” Raney said.
She noted that when a fire broke out at the High Point Golf Course,
land later acquired by Constellation, crews had to haul water from
multiple towns.
“They actually had to drive to get water from like 10 other
municipalities near us because we do not have the fire hydrant
system,” she said.
Raney said the Essex Coalition has launched a petition urging the
village to adopt industrial protections the community currently
lacks. She said the village first needs to restore its long-dormant
zoning board of appeals, now being revived as Constellation seeks
rezoning for more than 600 acres.
With the board expected to be appointed in December, she said
residents hope trustees will enact stronger industrial rules.
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