HAYFORD
Substation-AdjacentCook County, Illinois · PJM
At a glance
HAYFORD is a substation-adjacent datacenter candidate site in Cook County, Illinois, scoring 59.9/100 DC Readiness — 58th of 745 scored sites in the county. Its nearest substation is HAYFORD (0 mi, 138 kV). It sits in the PJM grid region and the COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO service territory, where interconnection has averaged 4.8 years from request to operation. GridCensus catalogs 100 MW of candidate capacity here.
Power & interconnection
Speed to power
Deep queue and long historical waits — plan for a multi-year interconnection timeline and engage the utility early.
Connectivity
Site characteristics
Risk & environment
Location context
Regulatory climate
New-DC state tax exemptions suspended for 2 years (from Jul 2026).
Incentive detail: Enterprise Zone sales tax exemption; High Impact Business designation for $12M+ DC investments.
Site location
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How does HAYFORD compare with other sites in Cook County?
HAYFORD ranks 58th of 745 scored candidate sites in Cook County. Its 59.9/100 is roughly in line with the county average of 54.5. It is about 10% above the Illinois average of 54.3 and about 13% above the national average of 53.2.
Against the Illinois average, its strongest sub-score is power availability (58 vs 37) and its weakest is speed to power (47 vs 47). Power and speed to power each carry 20% of the composite score, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.
How close is HAYFORD to power, fiber and other datacenters?
The nearest mapped substation, HAYFORD, is about 0 miles away and operates at 138 kV. The nearest located transmission bottleneck is Chicago - Praxair3 138 kV l/o Wilton Center - Dumont 765 kV (PJM), 11 miles away. For connectivity, the nearest internet exchange facility is Cogent Chicago 3 at 4.5 miles. 18 fiber providers report service at the location in FCC broadband data. The closest operating datacenter on record is Cogent Chicago 3, 4.5 miles away.
What are the flood, water and hazard risks at HAYFORD?
At the county level, FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cook County "Relatively High".
Full DC Readiness breakdown
All 13 weighted sub-scores (0–100) behind the composite DC Readiness score.
Nearby comparable sites
Other scored datacenter candidate sites in Cook County, ranked by DC Readiness.
| Site | Type | Voltage | Capacity | Queue wait | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN122269 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 71.2 |
| UNKNOWN124436 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 70.1 |
| UNKNOWN122285 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 68.5 |
| UNKNOWN124699 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 66.7 |
| UNKNOWN122531 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 3.0 yrs | 65.9 |
| BEDFORD PARK | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 65.7 |
| BLUE ISLAND | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 65.7 |
| UNKNOWN122289 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 4.8 yrs | 65.6 |
HAYFORD: common questions
What is the DC Readiness score of HAYFORD?
HAYFORD scores 59.9/100 on the GridCensus DC Readiness scale, rated good. It ranks 58th of 745 scored sites in Cook County. The Cook County average is 54.5 and the Illinois average is 54.3.
What is the nearest substation to HAYFORD?
The nearest mapped substation is HAYFORD, about 0 miles away, at 138 kV. GridCensus catalogs 100 MW of candidate capacity for the site.
Which electric utility serves HAYFORD?
COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO (investor owned) holds the retail service territory that contains the site; its holding company is EXELON CORP.
What grid region is HAYFORD in?
HAYFORD is in the PJM region. Projects interconnecting there have averaged a 4.8-year wait from queue request to operation.
How far is HAYFORD from an internet exchange?
The nearest internet exchange facility is Cogent Chicago 3, about 4.5 miles away; 18 fiber providers report service at the location.
Related pages
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 October 10, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: GridCensus, “HAYFORD, Cook County, IL”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/illinois/cook-county/hayford-4156b2a3 (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.
Figures are screening estimates derived from public infrastructure data. Catalogued capacity reflects theoretical candidate capacity, not deliverable or committed interconnection. Confirm all values with the utility, ISO, and on-the-ground due diligence.
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