Gail Technology Data Center, Effingham, Illinois

Gail Technology's solar-powered data center at 15244 E. 1700th Avenue, on the north side of Effingham, in Effingham County, Illinois, is under construction. It is the one project Effingham's new data center moratorium does not reach, because the city council's 12-month pause, passed 5-0 on June 2, 2026, exempts permit petitions already filed before that date. City Planner Greg Koester said the site runs on a 4.63-acre solar array and battery storage, sends extra power to the grid, and uses no water for cooling.

Residents have pushed the city to go further anyway. Nicholas Tkachuk of Altamont told the city council data centers could bring pollution, consume farmland and strain water and electricity, saying, "I think it's incredibly important that we make sure that these data centers don't spiral out of control." City Attorney Tracy Willenborg said the 12-month moratorium, which covers the city and the mile and a half around it, gives officials time to study the issue before writing permanent rules.

Effingham County has not followed suit. Pat Lewis of the EASE Community Alliance asked the county board to adopt a moratorium too, but board chairman Josh Douthit said Effingham County has no zoning and does not believe it can approve one.

Gail Technology, based in Bannockburn, says the solar array and batteries should run the data center around the clock, with Ameren paying for surplus power sent back to the grid. The company says the center will serve artificial intelligence and Web3, the term for blockchain-based computing, and that it has 10 similar projects in central Illinois, with this one expected to take 10 to 15 months to build.

Chief Financial Officer Nick Mahoney said Effingham was chosen for its utilities, permitting, flat land and distance from neighbors, and that the land can return to farming when the 25-year lease ends. IAG Investments is leasing the land to a solar developer that will build the array and the data center shell, and Gail Technology will then lease access to the finished data center to customers.

The Effingham City Council is due to write the city's permanent data center rules before the 12-month moratorium expires in June 2027.