Datacenter Sites in Clay County, Illinois
Clay County has 11 scored datacenter candidate sites averaging 55.0/100 DC Readiness, with a catalogued aggregate of 1,050 MW. FEMA rates local natural-hazard risk as "Relatively High". The county has a datacenter tax incentive on record.
At a glance
Clay County, Illinois has 11 scored datacenter candidate sites averaging 55.0/100 DC Readiness, roughly in line with the Illinois average of 53.6. It ranks 70th of 101 Illinois counties by number of sites and 33rd by average score. The top-scoring site is RACCOON CREEK STATION at 62.2/100.
Site-selection context for Clay County
Incentive detail: Enterprise Zone sales tax exemption; High Impact Business designation for $12M+ DC investments.
How does Clay County compare with other counties in Illinois?
By number of scored sites, Clay County ranks 70th of the 101 Illinois counties with a county page, holding 0.3% of the state's 3,641 sites. Its average DC Readiness of 55.0/100 ranks 33rd in the state and is roughly in line with the national average of 53.0. Nationally it has the 2327th-largest site inventory of 2,964 counties with five or more sites. 0 sites score 70 or higher and 4 score 55 or higher.
What types of datacenter sites are in Clay County?
Substation-Adjacent sites are the most common (7, 64% of the county's inventory), followed by greenfield (4). 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 Clay County?
Industrial electricity averages 6.83¢/kWh and commercial 10.39¢/kWh. FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county "Relatively High" (35). WRI water stress is low. 3 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 $6,235 an acre.
By site type
Top datacenter sites in Clay County
| Site | Type | Voltage | Capacity | Queue wait | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RACCOON CREEK STATION | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 62.2 |
| OZ Clay | Greenfield | — | — | 4.8 yrs | 59.5 |
| EC Coal Clay County | Greenfield | — | — | 4.8 yrs | 57.1 |
| UNKNOWN121708 | Substation-Adjacent | 138 kV | 100 MW | 4.8 yrs | 56.1 |
| UNKNOWN156910 | Substation-Adjacent | 69 kV | 50 MW | 4.8 yrs | 54.6 |
| TAP160154 | Substation-Adjacent | 69 kV | 50 MW | 4.8 yrs | 54.2 |
| UNKNOWN160153 | Substation-Adjacent | 69 kV | 50 MW | 4.8 yrs | 54.1 |
| UNKNOWN157808 | Substation-Adjacent | 69 kV | 50 MW | 4.8 yrs | 54.0 |
| TAP156128 | Substation-Adjacent | 69 kV | 50 MW | 4.8 yrs | 53.8 |
| Greenfield (UNKNOWN121708 - KINMUNDY) | Greenfield | 138 kV | 100 MW | 4.8 yrs | 50.0 |
| EC FFE Clay County | Greenfield | — | — | 4.8 yrs | 49.0 |
Every scored site in Clay County
All 11 sites, best first.
- RACCOON CREEK STATION · 62.2
- OZ Clay · 59.5
- EC Coal Clay County · 57.1
- Substation-Adjacent site · d2050ee5 · 56.1
- Substation-Adjacent site · aae2f75b · 54.6
- Substation-Adjacent site · 82b75f35 · 54.2
- Substation-Adjacent site · b0280a28 · 54.1
- Substation-Adjacent site · 13b2eba2 · 54.0
- Substation-Adjacent site · 00ed1d95 · 53.8
- Greenfield (UNKNOWN121708 - KINMUNDY) · 50.0
- EC FFE Clay County · 49.0
Clay County datacenter FAQ
How many datacenter sites are in Clay County?
11 scored datacenter candidate sites, averaging 55.0/100 DC Readiness. That is the 70th-most of 101 Illinois counties with five or more sites.
What is the highest-scoring datacenter site in Clay County?
RACCOON CREEK STATION scores 62.2/100 DC Readiness, the highest of the 11 scored sites in Clay County (a substation-adjacent site).
Does Clay County offer datacenter tax incentives?
Enterprise Zone sales tax exemption; High Impact Business designation for $12M+ DC investments.
What is the natural-hazard risk in Clay County?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as "Relatively High" (score 35).
What are industrial electricity rates in Clay County?
Average industrial electricity is 6.83¢/kWh and commercial is 10.39¢/kWh in Clay County.
More in Illinois
- All datacenter sites in Illinois· 3,641 sites
- Operating datacenters in Illinois
- Electric substations in Illinois
- Cook County· 745 sites · avg 53.1
- Winnebago County· 193 sites · avg 51.1
- Stephenson County· 127 sites · avg 47.8
- Madison County· 112 sites · avg 55.9
- St. Clair County· 100 sites · avg 54.4
- Lake· 89 sites · avg 54.8
- Substation-Adjacent sites in Illinois
- Greenfield sites 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 Clay County, Illinois”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/illinois/clay-county (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 Clay County, 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.