Climate Science and Policy

The rapid expansion of cloud computing and artificial intelligence is driving a surge in data center development across the United States, and Illinois has become one of the fastest-growing markets. Developers have moved into the state quickly, largely drawn by a mix of tax incentives and a power system that is both reliable and relatively low carbon. That pace has outrun the governance frameworks meant to manage it. This capstone looks at how that growth intersects with grid reliability, decarbonization goals, climate and weather risk, and community impacts. It draws on GIS mapping of data center locations alongside electricity infrastructure, along with meteorological and climate stressor visuals developed with Monarch Weather and Climate Intelligence. The goal is to identify where the real pressures are coming from and whether Illinois is prepared to manage them. The analysis finds that the issue is not a lack of authority. The Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois EPA, and the Environmental Protection Act already provide the core institutional tools. The problem is that those tools have been applied inconsistently and without data centers clearly in view. The result is a principal-agent problem. Developers control much of the key information, while the state lacks the capacity to independently verify it. This paper lays out four recommendations. These include requiring full environmental review for data center siting, increasing transparency around grid and rate impacts through the ICC, establishing binding protections for environmental justice communities, and using Illinois’s position to push for stronger industry accountability. As AI continues to scale and digital infrastructure expands, the decisions being made now about how this growth is powered, sited, and regulated will shape outcomes far beyond Illinois. This is not just a state policy issue. It is a test case for how governments manage the infrastructure behind a technology-driven economy.