More Details Revealed On Jersey County Data Center Project
JERSEYVILLE – Documents recently obtained by Riverbender.com provide new details behind a data center project being proposed in Jersey County.
Chicago-based Something New LLC applied for a commercial building permit application from the Jersey County Code Administration Office on June 4, 2026, though no permit has yet been issued. When and if a permit is issued, it would expire within 180 days if no activity or inspections take place on the site.
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The 18 megawatt development is planned on seven acres of land at 28860 Van Horne Lane in unincorporated Jersey County, south of Jerseyville. Located adjacent to a new substation owned by MJM Electric Cooperative, the site carries an estimated total development cost of $2 million. This does not include a land purchase price of $60,000 per acre, totaling another $420,000.
Jersey County Board Chairman Mark Wagner previously confirmed the data center would be used to power a Bitcoin operation. Unlike a traditional data center used to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing services, a Bitcoin data center is solely used to “mine,” or generate, cryptocurrency.
Notably, the word “Bitcoin” never appears in documents related to the proposal, while the phrase “data center” is used only once. An equipment and project summary prepared by Something New LLC describes the “Delhi Project” as a “modular digital infrastructure facility,” while a project overview describes its configuration as “containerized data center infrastructure.”
“The site will be used exclusively for operating modular digital computing infrastructure,” according to the project summary. “Personnel will access the site only as needed for inspection, maintenance, repair and operational support.”
The proposed data center would consist of eight removable containerized equipment units, eight dry cooling units, eight pad-mounted transformers, various electrical utility infrastructure, a gravel access driveway and gravel equipment yard with fencing, as well as monitoring and security camera equipment.
“The installation is designed as a removable, non-occupied utility infrastructure and does not include a conventional commercial building or permanent principal structure,” according to the project summary. “The project will be substantially similar in configuration to the Hillsboro / Taylor Springs modular deployment visited by Jersey County representatives in January 2026.”
Wagner previously said Jerseyville and Jersey County Code Administrators visited a similar data center site in Hillsboro, which he described as a quiet, fenced-in facility with “nothing out of the ordinary from any other commercial business.”
Wagner said the Jersey County Board is now researching how other communities regulate data center development and is considering updating its Code of Ordinances on the subject. The board’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 in the auditorium of the Jersey County Administration Building, located at 200 N. Lafayette St. in Jerseyville.
Illinois Senate Bill 4206 would allow counties across the state to establish construction standards for data centers via ordinance. It would also allow counties to control the number of data centers built within a given area and would require at least one public hearing to be held prior to any siting decision by municipal authorities. No action has been taken on the bill since May 18, 2026.
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