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Datacenter Sites in Champaign, Illinois

Champaign has 44 scored datacenter candidate sites averaging 58.1/100 DC Readiness, with a catalogued aggregate of 2,424 MW. FEMA rates local natural-hazard risk as "Relatively High". The county has a datacenter tax incentive on record.

At a glance

Champaign, Illinois has 44 scored datacenter candidate sites averaging 58.1/100 DC Readiness, roughly in line with the Illinois average of 53.6. It ranks 21st of 101 Illinois counties by number of sites and 4th by average score. The top-scoring site is Solar Star Urbana Landfill Community Solar Farm at 66.3/100.

44
Candidate sites
58.1/100
Avg DC Readiness
2,424 MW
Catalogued capacity
theoretical aggregate
Relatively High
Hazard rating
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≥ 7560–7540–60≤ 40
Top 25 in Champaign

Site-selection context for Champaign

Yessales_tax_exemption
Datacenter tax incentive
10.69¢/kWh
Commercial electricity
6.02¢/kWh
Industrial electricity
7
Fiber providers
Low
Water stress
$7,187
Land price / acre
1,100
Cooling degree days
5,600
Heating degree days
52°F
Mean annual temp

Incentive detail: Enterprise Zone sales tax exemption; High Impact Business designation for $12M+ DC investments.

How does Champaign compare with other counties in Illinois?

By number of scored sites, Champaign ranks 21st of the 101 Illinois counties with a county page, holding 1.2% of the state's 3,641 sites. Its average DC Readiness of 58.1/100 ranks 4th in the state and is roughly in line with the national average of 53.0. Nationally it has the 868th-largest site inventory of 2,964 counties with five or more sites. 0 sites score 70 or higher and 34 score 55 or higher.

What types of datacenter sites are in Champaign?

Greenfield sites are the most common (20, 45% of the county's inventory), followed by substation-adjacent (14) and former mine (5). Site type reflects how the parcel was identified — next to a substation, on a former mine or brownfield, on industrial or federal excess land — and is scored on the same 14 factors either way.

What are power cost, hazard, water and fiber conditions in Champaign?

Industrial electricity averages 6.02¢/kWh and commercial 10.69¢/kWh. FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county "Relatively High" (35). WRI water stress is low. 7 fiber providers report service in the county. The climate runs 1,100 cooling degree days a year with a mean temperature of 52°F. Land is valued around $7,187 an acre.

By site type

Top datacenter sites in Champaign

Top datacenter sites in Champaign
SiteTypeVoltageCapacityQueue waitScore
Solar Star Urbana Landfill Community Solar FarmBrownfield—5 MW4.8 yrs66.3
RISINGSubstation-Adjacent345 kV600 MW4.8 yrs64.6
SIDNEYSubstation-Adjacent345 kV600 MW4.8 yrs64.6
OZ ChampaignGreenfield——4.8 yrs61.6
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs61.6
EC Near University of Illinois Abbott Power PltGreenfield——4.8 yrs61.2
EC Near University of Illinois Abbott Power PltGreenfield——4.8 yrs61.0
University of Illinois Abbott Power PltBrownfield—3 MW4.8 yrs59.8
EC Coal Champaign CountyGreenfield——4.8 yrs59.7
UNKNOWN122039Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs59.6
UNKNOWN156911Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs59.6
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs59.4
TAP156130Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs59.4
EC Near University of Illinois Abbott Power PltGreenfield——4.8 yrs59.3
RantoulBrownfield—16 MW4.8 yrs59.3
EC Near University of Illinois Abbott Power PltGreenfield——4.8 yrs59.3
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs59.1
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs58.9
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs58.8
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs58.8
UNKNOWN122032Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs58.8
EC Near RantoulGreenfield——4.8 yrs58.8
UNKNOWN122085Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs58.7
URBANA PERKINS ROAD SUBSTATIONSubstation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs58.7
UNKNOWN122035Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW4.8 yrs58.7

Every scored site in Champaign

All 44 sites, best first.

Champaign datacenter FAQ

How many datacenter sites are in Champaign?

44 scored datacenter candidate sites, averaging 58.1/100 DC Readiness. That is the 21st-most of 101 Illinois counties with five or more sites.

What is the highest-scoring datacenter site in Champaign?

Solar Star Urbana Landfill Community Solar Farm scores 66.3/100 DC Readiness, the highest of the 44 scored sites in Champaign (a brownfield site).

Does Champaign offer datacenter tax incentives?

Enterprise Zone sales tax exemption; High Impact Business designation for $12M+ DC investments.

What is the natural-hazard risk in Champaign?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Champaign as "Relatively High" (score 35).

What are industrial electricity rates in Champaign?

Average industrial electricity is 6.02¢/kWh and commercial is 10.69¢/kWh in Champaign.

More in Illinois

About this data

Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published November 12, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: GridCensus, “Datacenter candidate sites in Champaign, Illinois”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/illinois/champaign (data as of November 12, 2026).

Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.

Go deeper than the public screen

Every site and score for Champaign, Illinois is free to browse. Pro adds Watchtower on 25 sites, alerts when new candidate sites, datacenters or interconnection-queue requests appear in your markets, score and capacity history, and CSV export. Enterprise adds team seats, weekly data files for all 147,272 sites, the REST API and an MCP server for AI tools.

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