ROCHELLE – Rochelle City officials provided details online about a potential 50-megawatt data center on a 75-acre industrial-zoned site. Developer LFF Industrial from New York would work to recruit a data center if a development agreement is approved by the City Council. Rochelle currently has more than 90 megawatts of available electric capacity, and the project would cover all infrastructure, utility, and water improvements, operate on a market-based electric rate, and use closed-loop cooling limiting water use to 100,000 gallons per day.
Rochelle City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said they will require limitations on utility demands in writing.
“So when we do recruit businesses to our community, we typically require what’s called a development agreement, which outlines power needs or water, wastewater needs or any type of impacts that those new businesses are going to have on the community,” he said.
The facility could create up to 35 full-time jobs averaging $85,000 annually, generate local and property tax revenue, and have minimal impact on city services. The project would qualify for a state tax abatement through the Ogle Lee Enterprise Zone.
