For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Jason Brown
Communications Manager
jbrown@buildingdecarb.org
917-548-4451
Statement from the Building Decarbonization Coalition on
Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker’s “State of the State” Address
Governor’s proposed study on the impact of data centers on Illinois offers an opportunity to demonstrate that thermal energy networks could use data centers’ waste heat to deliver affordable, clean heat to surrounding communities
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., (February 25, 2026) — Yami Newell, Illinois State Manager at the Building Decarbonization Coalition, provided the following statement in response to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s “State of the State” address:
“We applaud the Governor for recognizing the energy affordability crisis facing many Illinoisians, and support his plan to instruct key Illinois agencies to study the impact of existing data centers on the state’s energy grid, consumers, and economy during a two-year pause in the state’s data center tax incentive program. As part of this effort, we recommend that these agencies, along with the state’s utilities and data center industry, study how existing and new data centers in Illinois could use thermal energy networks to deliver clean, affordable heat to their surrounding communities.
Many data centers throw away enough heat to warm entire neighborhoods. Thermal energy networks can harness this ‘waste heat’ to cost-effectively heat nearby buildings while also reducing pollution, conserving water, and easing grid stress. This technology is not new—data centers connected to district heating systems, which are very similar to thermal energy networks, are currently warming thousands of homes in Sweden, Denmark, and Ireland. In the United States, data centers are currently being used to heat buildings in Seattle, Washington, and Verona, Wisconsin.
Thermal energy networks are one of the most energy-efficient ways to heat and cool buildings at scale. We look forward to working with Governor Pritzker’s Administration so that Illinois can turn the waste heat from its data centers into a cost-effective, local source of clean thermal energy to affordably heat its communities.”
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ABOUT THE BUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION
The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) aligns critical stakeholders on a path to transform the nation’s buildings through clean energy, using policy, research, market development, and public engagement. The BDC and its members are charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings to improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Learn more at www.buildingdecarb.org.