Data centers and new power in Cook County, IL
305 MW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Cook County, IL — 3 active requests. Typical wait: 6.5 years. 2 projects are built, 35 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Is one near your house?
We have not mapped a large AI data center inside Cook County itself — but we track the biggest ones nationally, and requests to connect new power here are on the public record.
What is happening with electricity in Cook County
Every new power plant, battery or big customer has to join a waiting list before it can plug into the grid. This is what that list looks like in Cook County right now.
Where every request ever filed here ended up
Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on. That is normal, not a warning sign for Cook County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
40 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by PJM. Parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Data as of 14 October 2026. A queued project is a request, not a commitment.
Outcome of every request filed here
| Outcome | Projects | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built | 2 | 336 MW | 5.0% |
| Still waiting | 3 | 305 MW | 7.5% |
| Withdrawn | 35 | 4.0 GW | 87.5% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries | 3 | 305 MW |
Key dates for projects here
no dated windows published
| Queue | What closes | Closes | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| PJM | Dominion GS-5 (Virginia SCC PUR-2025-00058) - ESAs signed on or after this date carry the 14-year term From this date the GS-5 large-load tariff carries a 14-year minimum term, alongside the reported 85% of contracted transmission demand minimum and $1… | No date published yet | disputed source |
| FERC | FERC large-load show cause — stakeholder comments on RTO responses Comments on the six RTO/ISO responses to the FPA section 206 show-cause orders of 18 June 2026 (PJM EL26-67, SPP EL26-68, NYISO EL26-69, MISO EL26-70… | No date published yet | unconfirmed source |
| FERC | FERC RM26-4 — generic large-load rulemaking Still at ANOPR stage. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
| FERC | Georgia PSC - Georgia Power must file large-load contracts 30 days before execution A standing obligation rather than a dated one: large-load contracts must be filed with the commission at least 30 days before they are executed. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
A date marked confirmed was checked by a person against the authority's own tariff, order or form page. Anything else is listed so you know it exists, with a link so you can check it yourself. Full calendar.
The biggest projects on file
top 15 by size
| Project | Type | Capacity | Status | Filed | Queue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Creek-Burnham | Natural gas | 1.3 GW | withdrawn | 2016-09 | PJM |
| Zion-Stateline | Not stated | 1.0 GW | withdrawn | 2016-05 | PJM |
| Calumet-Burnham 345 kV | Batteries | 500 MW | withdrawn | 2020-09 | PJM |
| Calumet | Natural gas | 327 MW | completed | 2008-03 | PJM |
| Calumet 138 kV | Natural gas | 296 MW | withdrawn | 2020-09 | PJM |
| Sheffield - Burnham 345 (Tie line between CE and NIPS, NIPS owns 1.87 miles) | Solar | 270 MW | withdrawn | 2022-08 | MISO |
| Burnham 138kV | Batteries | 200 MW | active | 2020-03 | PJM |
| Chicago Heights 138 kV | Batteries | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2021-09 | PJM |
| Chicago Heights 138kV | Batteries | 110 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | PJM |
| State Line - River Energy Center 138 kV | Batteries | 85 MW | active | 2020-09 | PJM |
| Des Plaines 138 kV | Batteries | 80 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | PJM |
| River EC 138 kV | Batteries | 58 MW | withdrawn | 2021-07 | PJM |
| River EC 138 kV | Batteries | 58 MW | withdrawn | 2021-09 | PJM |
| Robbins 138kV | Biomass | 50 MW | withdrawn | 2006-11 | PJM |
| Matteson - East Frankfort 138 kV | Solar | 44 MW | withdrawn | 2022-03 | PJM |
How Cook County compares
#773 in the US · #51 in IL
Cook County ranks #773 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #51 of 64 in Illinois.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County | 12 | 6.4 GW |
| Will County | 5 | 4.3 GW |
| McLean County | 11 | 2.9 GW |
| Ogle County | 5 | 2.9 GW |
| LaSalle County | 7 | 2.8 GW |
| Christian County | 8 | 2.3 GW |
| Peoria County | 7 | 2.1 GW |
| Tazewell County | 10 | 1.9 GW |
Common questions about power in Cook County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Cook County, IL?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Cook County is 6.5 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 2 projects in Cook County have reached energization and 35 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.
How much capacity is available in Cook County, IL?
305 MW is currently requested across 3 active interconnection requests, and 336 MW has actually been built. A queued megawatt is a request, not deliverable capacity — most queued projects are never built. For deliverable offtake capacity at a specific substation you need a utility study, not a queue.
Is Cook County, IL a good site for a data center?
This page gives you the power half of that answer: what is queued, what has been energized, how long the wait runs, and which large load interconnection requests are already recorded nearby. The other half — the state policy position, moratoriums and large load tariffs — is on our Illinois policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Cook County — PJM — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Cook County
The interactive map plots every one of these applications, and a generated county report puts them in a sourced PDF with the date each figure was true on every page.