State lawmakers emphasized the need for transparency about how much water data centers use to cool their facilities at the final of three data center-focused hearings in the House Executive Committee.
Undisclosed water use is one of the most common complaints about data centers, particularly for the large facilities that support artificial intelligence that are proliferating across Illinois.
Brad Tietz, the Midwest policy director for the Data Center Coalition, pushed back on proposed planning requirements, arguing that data center developers already work closely with utilities and municipalities.
Tietz also said data center cooling methods are constantly evolving,
