Hut 8 informational meeting: Community questions and comments

[February 07, 2026]  On Wednesday, February 4th, Hut 8, the company looking to build a 500-megawatt data center near Latham, hosted a meeting to give an update on the project. The meeting was held at the Lincoln Banquet Center. LDN published an article covering the updates that were given in our previous edition. Click here to read the first part of this story.

Someone from the audience raised their hand to ask a question. They wanted to know whether the data center would be switching to backup generators if their facility were to lose access to power. The representatives stated that they would, which prompted the audience member to ask about the number of generators there would be, as well as how loud they would be. They stated that they estimate needing between 15 and 18, and that the generators should run at 65 decibels. The audience member also wanted to know about dBc, or decibels relative to the carrier. They stated that dBc’s include low frequency noise that can travel through walls. The representatives shared that they are still conducting acoustic studies and did not have the answer at the moment. They also stated that they would be subject to whatever noise levels the county would restrict them to.

The next question came quickly, with the person wanting to know why Hut 8 did not look into whether the community wanted the data center before they started working on details of getting the project built. It was stated that Hut 8 needed to ensure the data center would be able to get enough power at its current proposed location to even be built. They did not want to come into the community, have the community get “spun up” about the idea of a data center, and then have it all be for nothing if the center could not be built within the county.

The next comment was about wanting to place the data center on the ballot in March to allow the people of the county to vote on whether they wanted it. This comment was followed by another, where the person stated that the majority of people in Logan County did not want the center, and that they had survived for a long time without their tax money.

The following person to speak was in favor of the data center. They stated that they were for the data center as well as the jobs it could bring. “One person does not speak for all,” she said.

The next commenter addressed the upgrades that Hut 8 is planning on paying for. He stated that he feels Hut 8 is making it seem like they are doing the county a service in upgrading the system. He clarified, stating that the upgrades they are paying for will only be to get enough electricity to their system, not to provide power to anyone else. The Hut 8 representatives agreed that this was the case, saying that they feel if the power is not going to be for the community, then the community should not be paying for it.

The next speaker started off talking about how Illinois is the highest taxed state in the United States. He also stated that Logan County has lost nine percent of its population over the last few years. He stated that the county is losing its “taxing base.” He continued, that taxes go up when people leave, not down. He stated that the data center and its tax revenues may be able to allow for the lowering of taxes for the people of the county.

Following this comment was someone with a question about whether the data center is going to be for artificial intelligence (AI) or not. The representatives stated that it was too early to tell, as potential tenants do not want to talk to Hut 8 until they are sure that the data center is going to be built. The person then asked why they should support AI if it may take jobs away from people in Logan County. The representatives stated that there are a lot of jobs that cannot be replaced by AI, citing plumbing and electrical work as examples.

The woman who spoke next stated that she feels for the people of Latham, as people will lose property values. She stated that she is a realtor, and that no one will want to live next to a data center. The representatives stated that they were not sure that was true. She stated that she knew this to be true as she already talked to people who stated that no one will buy their house next to a data center. The representatives followed up with an example of a county in Virginia that has a lot of data centers, stating that the property values are very high. He also mentioned a data center in Memphis that produces a lot of emissions that he understands why someone might not want to live next to. He then stated that this is not the type of data center that Hut 8 is trying to build. The woman continued her comment, “people have lived all their lives to get where they are at. To just take that away from them is not right. I don’t know how you sleep at night.” Sue then stepped in, offering to do a study on what the potential effect the data center could have on property values.

The next speaker started by stating that the data center should not be about what Logan County wants, but what Latham wants. She stated that they do not want to live next to the constant hum of the data center. She then stated that Hut 8 is coming in and giving their sales pitch, but they do not “give a crap” about the people of Latham. She stated that Latham is getting nothing and that it is not fair to them. The representatives responded by stating that they had spent an hour and a half talking to the volunteer firefighters in Latham on things that they need, as Hut 8 wants to help invest in the community.
 

The speaker after was a young 18-year-old who wanted to know about getting a job at the data center, as it might be something he may want to do. The representatives stated that, right now, what they need are jobs relating to areas like cooling, plumbing, electrical engineering, and janitorial workers.

There were several union worker representatives present. A man spoke to the young man and told him that they are looking for people like him. He also stated that Hut 8 signed a labor agreement with their organizations so that the first union jobs pulled for the construction of the data center will be local people. He stated that the men and women of organized labor in the area are for the project.

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The next question was an online one, asked by Bobby Jackson on behalf of someone watching the meeting that Jackson was livestreaming on Facebook. The question was over the decommissioning plan for the data center and how long the project would last before it was decommissioned. The Hut 8 representatives stated that the lease to a tenant would be for fifteen years, but that it could be renewed for longer. They hoped that it could go for as many as fifty years before it was decommissioned, citing some data centers that are around twenty years old. They stated that the county would have a hand in how the decommissioning plan would look.

A woman spoke next who had a response to the earlier comment about property taxes. She stated that the taxes are so high because of politicians spending too much money. She continued, stating “were the windmills not going to save us? Was the lottery not going to save us? Was the pot not going to save us?” She then stated that if you do not live in Latham, you do not care. She also stated that the taxes are not going to be for the people of Latham, and that the people need to get the politicians to stop spending money to lower taxes.

Water was the topic of the next question, with the asker wanting to know where the data center plans on getting its water from. The representatives stated that they are talking to some industrial water suppliers in the area to source their water for their closed loop cooling system. The next comment was about a drought that has been going on in Illinois, according to the commenter. The representatives assured everyone present that they are not going to be touching the Mahomet Aquifer and were willing to put that in the conditional use permit. The commenter then asked about what happens to the water in the cooling system after the four to seven years when it would need to be replaced. The representatives stated that they would hire professionals to dispose of the water.

After this, the next commenter wanted to know if Hut 8 would be willing to sign a good neighbor agreement with people living close by. The representatives were quick to answer, stating that they would. They are interested in knowing what the people living nearby would want in that agreement. The question after had to do with foreign investments, specifically how many of their investments come from foreign groups and if they would have a non-American company as a tenant. The representatives stated that they get all their investments from American banks. They also stated that their tenant at their Louisiana data center is an American company.

Next, someone wanted to know about where Hut 8 was getting their numbers on the taxes the data center was predicted to generate. The representatives stated that they got Illinois State professor Dave Loomis to run the numbers using a program he has. They also stated that they met with the Logan County Assessor with the projected numbers recently. The commenter then wanted to know about the proposed 200 jobs. She stated that there was a 70 percent decrease in the proposed number of data center jobs compared to the actual number of jobs that were created. The representatives stated that their Louisiana data center currently has about 150 people, but that they are still hiring. She then asked about Hut 8’s Niagara Falls data center that is currently not being used. At a previous meeting, it was revealed that the Niagara Falls data center is not being used due to high electricity costs in the area. The Hut 8 representatives stated that the Niagara Falls data center was built without a contract, and that they would not start building here without a contract with a tenant.

A young girl from Latham then asked a question about construction vehicles and whether they would be driving past her house. The representatives stated that it would be possible, but that they would be working with the county to make sure it would be safe and would sign a road use agreement.

The commenter after stated that they were pro jobs, but just because some people in the county feel Logan County is “on the ropes” does not mean that they need to jump at the first opportunity that comes around. They encouraged the board to do their due diligence when determining whether to vote for the data center. They were concerned about the precedent that could be set by allowing the data center into the county, stating that other similar companies might want to set up shop here as well.

The next person talked about how Latham does not have enough water to supply the data center, stating that they had looked into it. They also stated that Latham has nothing, and that the data center would not be bringing more houses or jobs for the people there. He stated that he would be in favor of the data center if it was going to bring those things. He also stated that no one will want to live in Latham if it is built. The representatives stated that they would like to talk to him after the meeting to see what other things could be done for Latham as a part of a community benefit agreement.

The comment was also made that the data center would completely change the way of life of the people of Latham. It was stated that people live in Latham for the quiet, and a data center would disrupt that.

Next, the mayor of Latham, Ted Allen, stated that the people of Latham do not want the data center. He also stated that he can give Hut 8 a list of what they want, but that “it is going to cost.”

Dale Nelson of the Logan County Board then got up to speak to provide some clarification. He stated that the county is always looking to lower taxes, sharing that the county lowered taxes by .02 percent last year. He also stated that the road use agreement would state what roads Hut 8 could use when building their facility, should it be approved by the county. A Hut 8 representative asked Nelson if the data center could cause the county to lower their taxes, but he declined to say. He did say that the county’s goal is always to lower taxes.

Some more comments were made, including mentions of the possible loss of Logan Correctional Center to another Illinois county that would take a lot of jobs with it. A comment was made about Hut 8 still having meetings to learn from the community, with the commenter saying that they are one of the only data center companies that continue to have these meetings to discuss with the community.

When the questions came to a close, the Hut 8 representatives invited anyone who wanted to talk to them one-on-one to stick around to do so.

[Matt Boutcher]

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