The Advancing Data Center Construction 2023 conference is underway this week in Kansas City, Missouri, focusing on the issues and challenges facing that industry. This includes the environmental impact of data centers as the demand for cloud storage and connectivity continues to grow. (Learn more about data center sustainability.)
Data centers have been increasingly important to Illinois, providing thousands of jobs and supplying crucial storage space for scores of companies. Chicago, in fact, ranks third in the country for data center capacity, according to the Chicago Tribune.
On June 4, the Illinois legislature recognized the importance of data centers to the state when it passed a bill with tax incentives for the industry. Among the requirements to qualify for the tax breaks under “Qualifying Illinois data center,” a data center must be carbon neutral or attain certification from a standard such as UL 3223, which was created in collaboration with ESD. Protection of data, reliability, sustainability, security and safety are the cornerstones of UL Cloud Certification.
ESD offers a team of experts with analysis, technical, and consultative skills to develop solutions spanning total cost of ownership and pro forma development of mission critical facilities, such as data centers. ESD supports this significant bill and urges Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker to sign it into law.
