Aligned: Coal City Campus

The proposed Coal City Data Center Campus, developed by Aligned Data Centers, is a massive 11-building hyperscale project planned for a 300-acre site in Coal City, Illinois.

Positioned to bring over 300 full-time jobs to the area, the campus is designed as a phased, multi-year project built to support intensive AI and cloud workloads through an approved high-voltage transmission agreement with ComEd.

However, local coverage highlights growing community pushback over its immediate proximity to residential zones, the Coal City Middle School, and the Early Childhood Center. While Aligned representatives emphasize that the facilities will deploy a modern, closed-loop glycol and refrigerant cooling system to minimize daily water consumption, local residents remain heavily vocal during public hearings about potential infrastructure strain, noise from continuous cooling fans, and the long-term impact on local utility rates.