Batavia Can Grow Smartly – What DeKalb’s Data Centers Teach Us

This or a similar version was submitted to multiple outlets including the Kane County Chronicle on October 22, 2025.

Planning for Progress – What Batavia Can Learn from DeKalb

Across northern Illinois, communities are deciding how to handle a new wave of digital-infrastructure investment. Batavia is one of them. The pending Hut 8 data-center proposal has prompted questions about power, water, and neighborhood impact – all fair concerns.

Just west of here, DeKalb’s Meta Data Center faced similar questions and shows what responsible planning can accomplish. Meta invested over $1 billion, employed more than 1,200 construction workers, and supports about 200 full-time jobs. Since 2021, it has awarded over $1.2 million in grants to local schools and nonprofits and committed to be water-positive by 2030 – restoring more water to local ecosystems than it consumes.

According to DeKalb County officials, Meta’s 2024 assessment added about $103 million to the county’s taxable base, helping lower the property-tax rate while maintaining services. Evidence from DeKalb suggests that, when planned well, data centers can strengthen local finances rather than strain them.

Batavia’s Local Advantage

Unlike most suburbs, Batavia operates its own municipal electric utility, giving residents a direct voice in how major users connect to the grid, what infrastructure they help fund, and what standards govern reliability.

Because Batavia purchases wholesale power and manages its own substations and feeders, each new industrial load requires coordination – but that’s a strength. Through the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency (NIMPA) – whose members are Batavia, Geneva, and Rochelle – the city already collaborates regionally to secure long-term power and reliability. That cooperative model shows how municipal utilities can manage large projects responsibly.

Learning from Nearby Examples

Batavia’s pending Hut 8 proposal isn’t a done deal – it’s an opportunity to apply what our neighbors have already learned. DeKalb proved that clear expectations and cooperation can turn questions into long-term community gains.

Aurora, just to the south, has seen both sides of the story. Established campuses operated by CyrusOne, Edged, and others brought investment, but after rapid early growth the city paused new approvals to address resident concerns – showing the value of transparency early in the process.

To the east, West Chicago’s SBA Edge campus (formerly New Continuum) anchors the same ComEd and fiber corridor that serves Batavia. It operates quietly and reliably, illustrating that these facilities can coexist with neighborhoods when they’re sited and managed well.

Together, these lessons give Batavia the benefit of hindsight – the chance to plan once and get it right.

Addressing Common Concerns

Noise: Modern data centers are remarkably quiet. Backup generators run only brief monthly tests or during rare outages, and sound is buffered through setbacks, berms, and enclosures.

Water and Local Oversight: The proposed Batavia facility won’t have the water-use problems people often fear. The city required a closed-loop cooling system that recycles water and capped use at 1,000 gallons per day – roughly a few households’ worth. Officials say the impact on Batavia’s system will be minimal, and consumption will be monitored under the operating agreement. If managed as proposed, Batavia can capture the economic upside without added measurable strain on its water supply.

Fairness: When planned properly, large projects fund most of the infrastructure they need – feeders, roads, and utility extensions – so homeowners aren’t left paying for them.

Understanding the Power Equation

Northern Illinois is part of the PJM Interconnection, a 13-state regional grid that shares both generation and costs. Whether a large campus is built in Ohio, Virginia, or Illinois, those wholesale prices ripple across all PJM states.

Since Batavia ratepayers already share those regional costs, it makes sense to keep some of the benefits here – local jobs, tax revenue, and utility investment. A responsibly sized project like Hut 8 won’t reshape the grid overnight, but it can improve local reliability and spread fixed costs across a broader base.

Planning Responsibly

Public caution is healthy. These facilities are large and technical, and they deserve careful review. But the technology itself isn’t the problem – it’s how we plan for it.

Batavia can set the standard by requiring:

• Independent studies for water and noise impacts,
• Scaled setbacks and landscape buffers, and
• Transparent cost-sharing plans for utility upgrades.

When expectations are clear and public, projects move forward with less controversy and greater benefit.

A Local Perspective

I live in DeKalb County and work in Internet and data-center infrastructure. I have no financial stake in any current proposal; my interest is seeing our region grow responsibly.

DeKalb’s experience shows that technology and community can coexist. With thoughtful planning and open communication, Batavia can do the same – strengthening its tax base, improving reliability, and ensuring environmental accountability without losing the character that defines the city.

Mike Hammett lives in DeKalb County and has over 20 years of experience in Internet and data-center infrastructure. He has no financial interest in current data-center proposals.