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Utilities are strange. They’re essential and they must be reliable. They straddle both public and private spheres: they’re regulated by federal and state governments, but are still allowed to earn a profit.

Their regulation is full of layers of administrative orders, cases, dockets. Each opens in a separate tab, and reading the captcha is the first trick. Decoding the jargon is next. This week, I’ve been reading up on the history of utilities with two questions:

First question: how did we find ourselves in this complex electric web—er, grid?

Second question: WTF is ROFR?

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First question first. Wisconsin’s modern utility infrastructure began in 1907, according to a memo from the Wisconsin Legislative Council. That’s when the state Legislature passed the Public Utilities Law and transferred utility regulation from municipalities to the state. The law also gave public utilities monopoly status, out of a fear competition could lead to duplicative infrastructure (two power lines providing the same service, an inefficiency). As elsewhere, Wisconsin was a leader among states in establishing this framework.

Nationally, for much of the twentieth century, utilities were vertically integrated monopolies. They ran their own generation, transmission, and distribution. But gradually, utilities began to recognize the need to work together. Then, in the late twentieth century, utilities transformed, writes Janice Beecher, professor of political science specializing in regulatory institutions and utility policy.

In the 1990s, the energy sector began to unbundle generation (gencos) from transmission (transcos) from distribution (discos), setting the stage for what we now call “the grid.” New tools emerged for managing the market, and policy reforms brought “selective deregulation when competition is sufficiently workable.” It all rested on a theory that “favors competitive markets over regulatory institutions for promoting social goods, namely efficiency.”

Why competition? The Averch-Johnson effect, for one. Economists Harvey Averch and Leland Johnson theorized in 1962 that regulated utilities have a structural incentive to prefer large, expensive infrastructure projects over cheaper alternatives. In other words, for a utility, more investment means more profit. Competition, the thinking goes, keeps that impulse in check.

FERC – the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – has itself produced a primer on energy market basics. It too describes how utilities started out as vertically integrated monopolies. Eventually, these monopolies began to coordinate and pool resources to respond to the unique demands of delivering electricity.

And in the ‘90s, as part of unbundling, a wave of new federal orders to break up that monopolistic control included one forcing utilities to open up their transmission lines to competitors. It’s at this stage that we start to encounter regional electricity markets, which aim to “[facilitate] open access to transmission” and “[foster] competition for electricity generation.”

All of that background leads me to the second question, and brings us to Order 1000, a rule issued fifteen years ago by FERC. This rule mandated transmission competition. Under it, incumbent utilities could no longer rely on the “right of first refusal;” that is, existing utilities could no longer have the first option to build transmission projects. Instead, for the most part, those projects had to go out to bid.

But regulation crosses both federal and state lines, and Order 1000 allows states to expressly keep right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) for incumbent utilities if they wish. About a dozen states, largely in the Midwest, have done so, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Some of those states with ROFR laws are our neighbors, including Michigan and Minnesota. In Iowa, a legal challenge reached the state Supreme Court, which remanded it back to a lower court that enjoined the law (before remanding, the Iowa Supreme Court described both the law and the process by which it was passed, buried within an appropriations bill, as “quintessentially crony capitalism.”) Illinois nearly adopted a similar law in 2023, but it was met a veto from Gov. Pritzker.

Wisconsin doesn’t have a law enshrining the right of first refusal. Yet.

Last year, a ROFR bill appeared in the state Legislature. It never managed to make it out of committee, but did get a public hearing, where supporters argued that the time spent on competitive bids added costs, and opponents argued the opposite: that eliminating competition would increase costs.

Opponents united strange bedfellows. The Citizens Utility Board said: “Please don’t remove a tool in the toolbox for cost savings for customers already facing energy inflation.”

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty was blunter: the proposal is unconstitutional, it “impermissibly discriminates against nonresident companies,” and is “a bad policy that will drive up costs for ratepayers.”

Both AFP and AARP opposed it, the latter writing that it’s “legislation that would give monopoly utilities and the utility-owned American Transmission Company the exclusive right to build large new regional transmission lines, to the detriment of ratepayers.”

The full public testimony reaches 193 pages. It also includes extensive analysis from University of Tulsa professor Eric Olson, Founding Director of the Center for Energy Studies, whose work studying transmission issues has popped up elsewhere. In his analysis, Olson takes aim at how purported cost savings are described:

“ATC argues that its incumbent status allows it to offer cost-effective solutions for transmission development compared to new entrants. However, this claim relies on a misleading interpretation of cost savings, which actually represents cost shifting rather than a true reduction in expenses,” Olson concluded.

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But the fight for ROFR ain’t dead. It’s just moved back to federal regulators.

Last week, I shared with you in a news brief that ATC and Xcel Energy, which own and operate transmission lines here in Wisconsin, are among a coalition of transmission utilities that have asked FERC to temporarily pause competitive bidding in order to “win the AI race.” (Wisconsin Watch also covered it.) But it’s worth spending the time to read more of the complaint, as it echoes the same breathless time crunch inherent in data center proposals on the ground in Wisconsin.

The complaint was filed last week by a coalition of transmission companies calling themselves the “Grid Acceleration Coalition.” In total, the coalition includes the International Transmission Co., Michigan Electric Transmission Co., ITC Midwest LLC, ITC Great Plains, Ameren Services Co., American Transmission Co., Cleco Power, Entergy Services, Evergy, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., Empire District Electric Co, and Xcel Energy.

The coalition is hoping federal regulators loosen rules requiring competition in two of the regional transmission operators, or “grids”: the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which Wisconsin belongs to, and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). These two grids represent most of the Midwest, and the areas where, new research this week finds, most new data center proposals are coming.

This complaint uses some particularly grand language. It’s about “whether our country will seize, or squander, a generational chance to own the next century while also fulfilling the most fundamental obligation of utilities,” begins the introduction. If successful, “we will win the race to achieve dominance in artificial intelligence.”

The phrase “AI race” is mentioned 88 times, and all that’s stopping us from winning it, say these transmission companies, is building electricity infrastructure fast enough. They say the requirement for solicitation is “bureaucratic red tape” that’s created an average of more than 16 months of delays. These days, competition has become a “morass;” the solicitation process “unjust,” and “unreasonable.”

It goes on. Demand for energy is “increasing at a rate unseen since World War II,” and these new “expressways of power” are akin to the interstate highway system built under Eisenhower. SPP itself, they argue, says that the “region is on the precipice of a resource adequacy crisis,” which threatens the reliability of electric power. And AI leaders are complaining that available power is their biggest constraint. Microsoft has “a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that [it] can’t plug in,” according to CEO Satya Nadella (this week, Microsoft plugged in at least some of those chips in Mount Pleasant, and ahead of schedule).

As mentioned last week, there’s the dust-up in Port Washington. Despite the process feeling plenty speedy to residents there, the buildout of substations to power Vantage’s Lighthouse complex could have happened more than a year earlier without the solicitation process.

“Had MISO directly assigned the substations to ATC, ATC could have commenced development upon the MISO Board’s approval in December 2024. Instead, the project underwent solicitation and was assigned to a nonincumbent developer—one with vanishingly little experience and not even authorized to operate in Wisconsin,” writes the complaint.

“Ultimately in March 2026 portions had to be re-assigned to ATC anyway, after MISO conducted a Variance Analysis (at ATC’s request) and determined that the nonincumbent could not meet the December 2027 in-service date for certain facilities.”

MISO re-awarded the project to ATC last month.

And then there’s a project, from Xcel, to build 765 kV transmission lines from South Dakota, through Minnesota and Wisconsin to Iowa. Minnesota and South Dakota have ROFR laws, meaning they can “move into development without a solicitation delay.” Wisconsin and Iowa do not, meaning the process will be delayed “by approximately 20 months relative to a scenario where the responsible developer could proceed immediately.”

FERC has two options to deal with the time crunch, write the complainants. Either order MISO or SPP to determine whether the solicitation process would delay interconnection or transmission service, or temporarily suspend solicitation in this “most critical time period.”

And “because time is of the essence,” the Grid Acceleration Coalition says, they want a decision by mid-July. In the world of energy regulation, that qualifies as fast-track processing. This week, a number of other transmission companies, and even some states’ public service commissions, have filed requests to intervene.

There’s one last tidbit when reading the complaint. Last week, I shared some of the testimony from ATC. This week, I’ll share some of the testimony from Dean Woodley Ball, who’s held fellowships at the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation for American Innovation. He’s acted as an AI advisor to the Trump Administration and last year wrote the administration’s AI Action Plan, along with helping draft an Executive Order to accelerate federal permitting of data center infrastructure. He and I have at least two things in common: we both have a Substack, and we both have read Oakeshott.

The AI race, says Woodley Ball, is comparable to the Soviet space race. And key to winning it is ensuring that data center construction, energy generation, and electricity transmission “can keep pace with AI’s exponential growth,” in part by removing the “regulatory barriers that could push American companies to build abroad.” Or in other words, “the infrastructure competition is inseparable from the AI competition itself.”

If data center growth feels fast, that’s because it is. It could very well be a race. But there’s another reason transmission companies might want to move fast and suspend competition: “transcos” can start charging customers as soon as they start building, under a tool called CWIP, or Construction Work in Progress. That means you the consumer start paying the cost as soon as construction starts.

Originally, CWIP “was pitched as a practical tool to encourage construction,” writes Eric Olson, the same economist who analyzed Wisconsin’s ROFR bill, in a co-authored piece. But in practice, “[CWIP] has produced inflated budgets through undisciplined spending and pushed risk from investors onto ratepayers.”

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Wisconsin news in brief

💬 Dem. candidates give their data center spiel

Candidates in the Democratic primary for governor again stated their positions on data centers on Tuesday, in a candidate forum hosted by Citizens Action of Wisconsin (WPR, WisPolitics, forum video).

It’s not the first time the candidates have been asked, and it’s definitely not the last. It’s also perhaps not the worst idea to track how their positions on data centers shift in reaction to evolving polling and messaging advice.

I find it difficult to paraphrase these candidates on such a complex issue, and when each lists a number of ideas and perspectives (some of which are infeasible or impossible). To that end, I’ve transcribed their exact answers in the below guide to use as a resource.

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⚡ More pushback on MariBell transmission line

Vernon County officials are exploring whether to pool resources with neighboring Crawford and Richland counties to oppose a high-voltage transmission project in the Driftless, reports the Vernon Reporter.

The MariBell proposal would route roughly 140 miles of 765 kilovolt transmission line from Marion, Minnesota to Bell Center, Wisconsin. It’s being proposed by Dairyland Power Cooperative and NextEra Transmission, who say the project is “part of a larger effort by MISO… to maintain a resilient and flexible electric grid.”

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😷 Hearing on Port Washington air quality permits

Also on Tuesday, the DNR held a public hearing for air quality permits at the Vantage Stargate campus in Port Washington. Those permits are necessary for the hyperscale data center to run 45 diesel generators in the event of a power outage (WPR).

At the hearing, residents weighed in, saying that their existing ozone pollution was already at capacity (Wisconsin Examiner). For more on the air quality / data center nexus, see this edition of the Data Processor.

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💰 On the lawsuit from business groups

Remember that initiative in Port Washington to block the future use of tax increment financing for large-scale projects? The one that voters put on the ballot, then approved, earlier this month?

Business groups are still seeking to block its implementation. The case had a scheduling conference on Thursday. Unfortunately, Ozaukee County does not appear to be one of the many counties where you can livestream court proceedings, but it appears a trial has been set for September 16.

Those suing include the following groups that have a stake in large-scale development, including business, contractors, construction labor, developers, realtors, and — uniquely — a Port Washington-based waterproofing business:

• Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Inc.
• Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee, Inc.
• Building Advantage
• Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin, Inc.
• NAIOP Wisconsin Chapter, Inc.
• Wisconsin Realtors Association, Inc. and
• Sids Sealants LLC & Sid Arthur

Some of these groups have lobbied on other data center bills this session. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, for example — whose CEO is former Republican lawmaker Dale Kooyenga — lobbied on several data center bills this session. Including to lift the 12% cap on the Port Washington TID, and indeed to lift the cap on all TIDs where there’s a qualified data center, expand tax exemptions to colocated data centers, and perform perfunctory checks on areas of data center controversy.

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📄 What is driving electric cost increases in Wisconsin?

Bill Skewes wants to set the Wisconsin Legislature straight. On Wednesday, the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Utilities Association sent a memo to state lawmakers.

Electric costs are rising, Skewes says, because a multifactored set of conditions in building, maintaining, and financing the electric system are rising: replacing aging infrastructure, hardening the grid against more frequent severe storms, building new power sources to eventually retire coal, higher construction and labor costs, higher borrowing costs, and volatile fuel markets.

Only when we reach the seventh and final point do we see another factor: data centers. According to the memo, “new large customers—especially data centers—require: new substations, higher capacity lines, [and] additional generation and backup capacity.”

And even if most of those costs are paid by large customers, it still raises the overall infrastructure costs for everyone, the argument goes. When I asked, Skewes couldn’t point to a single event that precipitated sending the memo. Instead, he said, this was an active area of public attention and debate.

What Is Driving Electric Cost Increases In Wisconsin

112KB ∙ PDF file

Download

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🗄️ Microsoft’s Fairwater data center goes live

In Mount Pleasant, Microsoft’s Fairwater data center has reportedly gone live, according to CEO Satya Nadella. I can’t find any independent reporting to confirm it.

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Elsewhere on the internet

• Moment of Truth: Sam Altman may control our future. Can he be trusted? Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz profile Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, in a luxuriously researched piece for The New Yorker. They also discuss their painstaking research and methods in a recent podcast.
• The US government will ask data centers how much power they use. The Energy Information Administration is planning to develop a mandatory inventory of data center energy use, reports WIRED. But they’re going to run before they walk. Last month, the EIA announced it would conduct a pilot survey in Texas, Washington, and Virginia/DC. According to a letter sent to Sens. Liz Warren and Josh Hawley, the EIA plans to announce a “second tranche” of pilot surveys soon.
• Anthropic opposes the extreme AI liability bill that OpenAI backed. A proposed Illinois law would let AI makers off the hook for mass deaths and financial disasters, reports WIRED, signaling fission between AI developers. The bill, SB3444, is one of roughly 50 AI-related bills in Illinois right now. And that’s just the bills filed in 2026, according to a coalition tracking AI transparency across the US.
• Most new data centers in the U.S. are coming to rural areas. Pew Research has some new numbers: 67% of planned data centers are in rural areas, and the Midwest has 419 planned data centers and 655 existing ones. To my chagrin, this research does not distinguish between type of data center. Nor does its underlying sourcing from datacentermap.com. For more on types of data center, see this edition of the Data Processor.

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Events in brief

• Tuesday, April 21: Rock County Data Center Town Hall (Blackhawk Tech College, 6-8pm). Organized by No Beloit Data Center, featuring Charlie Berens. More information here.
• Wednesday, April 22: Data Centers in Grant County (Lancaster, 7pm).
  
  The Grant County Farm Bureau will host an informational meeting on data centers.
• Wednesday, April 22: Understanding AI: A Forum for Local Government (Oshkosh, 8am-3:30pm). Part of a series of forums for local government presented by UW Extension. Topics include how to use and mitigate risks posed by generative AI, and the basics of data centers. $50, and register.
• Wednesday, April 22: Water@UW-Madison Spring symposium (Madison, 2-5pm).A data science professor will given an overview on the “good, bad, and complicated” of AI use. A water policy expert will present on the “hidden environmental costs of AI data centers.” Free, but register.
• Thursday, April 23: ICE and Data Centers (Sheboygan, 6pm).
  
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Sheboygan on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Friday, April 24: ICE and Data Centers (Manitowoc, 4pm).
  
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Manitowoc on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Monday, April 27: Brownfield basics (Janesville, 5:15pm). The last in a series of data center workshops. More information here.
• Thursday, April 30: Wisconsin Tech Summit (Oshkosh Corp. headquarters, $$). This year’s annual summit is focused on AI in industry, especially in health care, finance, ag, energy, and manufacturing. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, of UW-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, will deliver a keynote. Full speaker list here, and more info.

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That’s all for now!

This weekly newsletter is attempting to do something a little different: round up the data center news across Wisconsin, and present the patterns that emerge.

I’m starting this out of a personal habit of aggregating developments and data center news, and a way to organize notes for longer research projects. Then I figured, why not share the notes with you?

Last week, I left this newsletter on a cliffhanger: where in the world is a data center that says it puts the environment ahead of profits? The answer is outside of Wisconsin. To find it, I drove east to Milwaukee, and on to sovereign land.

Data Holdings was built thirteen years ago by Potawatomi Ventures, the economic development arm of the Forest County Potawatomi. It was built on the former Concordia University campus, which the tribe now owns via a federal land trust.

The data center is part of the tribe’s larger effort to diversify businesses outside of gaming while ascribing to the Seventh Generation ethic: the idea that decisions today should ensure sustainable consequences for seven generations into the future.

“This data center should not exist in Wisconsin. It should not be here. And the reason I say that [is because] it is so nice. Nothing else like it is around, because it was done right,” says Ryne Cooper, Director of Growth, who is all smiles and clearly loves his job. He greets me after I’m buzzed through a gate and present a government-issued ID.

“As with anything, there’s a right way and wrong way to do things. This data center aligns with tribal values very well. Most businesses are looking at next quarter. They put profits over people, [but] that is not what we do here,” says Cooper. He adds that before the data center was being constructed, every design detail was meticulously mapped out down to the last floor tile.

From the street, 3135 W. Highland Blvd looks like an administrative building that, if anything, is oddly fortified. But the servers inside are powering hundreds and hundreds of companies, government agencies, and nonprofits. Most of the 70-80 customers are managed service providers that, in turn, power hundreds of sub customers.

Cooper’s cagey on telling me most of their customers — it’s central to data privacy, after all — but I can tell you this one: the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration, which has its own private suite. And this one: the Mount Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort in the Dells.

“What it’s used for is businesses in the region to put their equipment, server, data, apps somewhere that’s always going to be online, and always going to be secure. That’s our value proposition,” says Ryan Brooks, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager, who’s been involved in building internet infrastructure for a long time.

He is, says Cooper, “part of the reason that we have the internet in Wisconsin.”

Both Cooper and Brooks know “data center” has become a dirty phrase. But Brooks is blunt: in his view, this is the best data center in the Midwest. It’s purpose‑built. It wastes less and has more security than anything nearby.

Cooper, meanwhile, has turned the stigma into an opening. He says he likes telling people he works at a data center precisely because of the reaction it gets.

“People will be like, ‘Oh, you work in a data center.’ And I’m like, yeah — but not just any data center. Come in. I’m gonna show you. We’re gonna open up the curtain, come behind the scenes. We’re gonna show it all to you.”

A quarter of voters say is their top concern with data centers, according to new polling from Wisconsin Conservation Voters, is water use.

This data center uses a real closed loop water system, meaning, outside of the restrooms and the sink, water does not leave or enter the building. The biggest water use is from brewing the coffee.

“If a drop leaves your building, it is not closed loop,” says Cooper. “Because as you’re running that water over chips, you’re putting heavy metals in it, you’re putting forever chemicals, you’re contaminating it. I don’t care how many reverse osmosis systems you put through it: you’re contaminating it, and it’s not closed loop.”

The water chills the immense amount of heat generated by server rooms. The water is cooled by chillers on the roof, but when it’s below 50 degrees, the outside air does the work. It’s just powered by a fan that blows the cold air over coils.

Inside the white pipes is a mixture of water and glycol — a foodsafe, nontoxic version of antifreeze. When there’s a leak, the mixture is reclaimed and put back in to circulation.

The most potent angle of opposition, according to the same polling from Wisconsin Conservation Voters, is that data centers should pay their full share to power these facilities.

Data Holdings gets most of its power through a raw feed from WE Energies. It was one of the first expenses when they started developing the property.

“The tribe wrote the check and paid to have it run themselves, because they weren’t going to put the burden on the community, because it is not the community’s burden,” says Cooper.

Since this is sovereign land, they don’t pay taxes on the power. But from the direct feed, the tribe runs its own power operation. They have their own substations, and their own electrical field. Each has a completely independent circuit to the server room.

Each power field runs 8.6 megawatts. If both fail simultaneously, enough backup UPS batteries are there to keep the servers online while two diesel generators power up.

These diesel generators are in their own dedicated room. They’ve never been needed in an emergency but are regularly tested. They’re kept inside thick indoor walls, and the cacophony of running them doesn’t reach outside the building. Above the generators are special hoods which catch and filter the exhaust instead of running it into the atmosphere.

Suspenders, belt, suspenders

Entryways throughout the building have a variety of failsafes to prevent both intruders and human error. The building itself has a thick concrete roof, and is designed to withstand a direct hit from an F5 tornado.

In the server rooms, it’s a clean, crisp white. The data servers sit above three ft. raised floors that carry chilled air and power. The cool regulated airflow blows my skirt up. The ceilings are outfitted with air sensors that can pinpoint smoldering hours before a fire breaks out. They’ll send an alert, down to the exact floor tile.

Over and over, there are design details that add redundancy. They also reduce risk.

Cooper compares the design to wearing two pairs of suspenders. Even if one fails, you have another pair of suspenders so you don’t get caught with your pants down. Each year, he gets another hashmark tattooed for another year without an outage. He waits a couple months until the year is over, so he doesn’t jinx it.

If you’ve been following this newsletter, you’ve seen a different picture of data centers: hyperscale proposals wrapped in non‑disclosure agreements, tax incentives measured in the hundreds of millions, and projected power and water draws that outstrip our current power generation.

Data Holdings is a counterexample hiding in plain sight; proof that the phrase “data center” can mean very different concepts.

It doesn’t ask the public to pay for it. It’s smaller than a hyperscale data center; about 1/25th the size of the Microsoft campus. It exists because a tribe was willing to spend more up front to build the thing it wanted in its own backyard.

Data Holdings was built well before most people knew the term data center, and well before the state Legislature established tax breaks for large data centers in Wisconsin. Data Holdings wouldn’t qualify for those tax breaks for two reasons. Colocated centers like this are ineligible. And again, we are on sovereign land.

And here, sovereign land translates to sovereign data. That’s important, when private tech companies are contracting with the federal government to build intelligence profiles on citizens. Here, data falls outside the federal government’s jurisdiction.

Cooper told me he often reminds other tribes that if their backups live in AWS or Azure, their information is effectively under U.S. federal control. Storing that data under tribal jurisdiction allows sovereign nations to access the data they need and, frequently, don’t get.

There’s just one other tribal-built data center that Brooks and Cooper can recall, and it’s in the Southwest, built under the authority of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.

“The Data Center being built on Sovereign Navajo land emphasizes the significance of autonomy and control over technological resources and services provided within the Nation,” according to the facility’s webpage.

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The vote heard around the nation

Elections, the saying goes, have consequences. In Port Washington on Tuesday, voters approved a referendum that’s been widely described as the first ballot item about data centers in the country. POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger (a former Madison journalist) previewed and then recapped it, as did The Hill, WPR, and so on.

Port Washington’s massive OpenAI/Oracle “Stargate” campus is of course the impetus. But the referendum language itself doesn’t mention data centers. Instead, it prevents a municipal development tool from being used for massive projects in the future without voter approval. The name of that tool is tax increment financing, or TIF.

What’s TIF, and what’s a TID? There have been tomes written on these topics. Historically, tax increment financing has helped to make otherwise impossible projects work.

Think of a blighted waterfront property that no private developer would touch because the upfront costs are too high. By creating a TIF District, or a TID, the city can promise to reimburse a developer over time from the new tax revenue generated within the district. When the bills are paid, the TID closes, and the higher property value goes back on the normal municipal tax rolls. Everybody wins.

But, this traditional economic tool gets thrown out of whack when we’re talking about hyperscale data centers. The numbers become so large that decisions about how quickly to raise the overall tax levy, who bears the risk if things change, and how long the money is locked inside the TID can have real consequences for everyone else’s tax bills, even if you live outside of the district.

So how did Port Washington get this passed? They used a section of state law that allows electors in villages and cities to place legislation on the ballot. Towns, interestingly enough, don’t have the same right of direct legislation under a 2023 Supreme Court decision, I noticed.

But getting the ballot question placed wasn’t without a fight. Business groups are still suing to block it. In a press release, the data center opposition group organized against development in Port Washington touted the results. “Tonight, democracy worked the way it’s supposed to,” said organizer Christine Le Jeune. “The people deserve a seat at the table when their tax dollars are on the line.”

Elections outside Port Washington

• VERNON COUNTY: Organizer Krista Browne was elected mayor of Viroqua. She’s part of a coalition organizing opposition to Maribell 765kV transmission lines being built in Vernon and Crawford counties.
• RACINE COUNTY: Retired financial tech executive Prescott Balch, who’s been advising communities on the implications of TIF for data centers since a proposal in Caledonia was halted, won election to Village Trustee in Caledonia, which last fall faced a proposal from Microsoft.
• DUNN COUNTY: Matthew Crowe was elected mayor of Menomonie. He replaces longtime Mayor Randy Knaack, who’s been mayor for the past decade and a half. Crowe says “data center transparency” helped him win.
• EVEN OUTSIDE WISCONSIN: In Missouri, every incumbent council member lost after supporting a $6 billion data center plan.
• THIS FALL: Another data center referendum, this one on the GM/JATCO site, will head to Janesville in November.

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Other news in brief

📈 There’s new data about data center messaging.

A webinar this week from the Wisconsin Conservation Voters outlined results of recent polling about data center messaging, ahead of the many elections coming up this fall.

The full candidate messaging guide is here, and I wasn’t shocked to learn what the top issues are for voters. But what was surprising is that each party has its own different top concern— utility costs for Republicans, water use for Independents, and climate change for Democrats.

That seems to track. Over the weekend, Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany said he’d end tax subsidies for data centers in Wisconsin.

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🌊 More on the water impacts of data centers.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/FSeViLtzd9g?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

An event at the Marquette Law School on Wednesday focused on the intertwining between energy and water use.

“The real key with a lot of this is looking at the siting of [data] centers, and that’s something that isn’t being done in Wisconsin or nationally,” said Cheryl Nenn, with the nonprofit Milwaukee Riverkeeper.

“ Just how fast these data centers are coming online, the regulations are not keeping up, and we’ve been left flat-footed as far as putting in any kind of federal or state regulations to protect water supplies.”

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🌊 This Beaver Dam farmer’s well has dried up

A family farm’s well started drying up in February, reports WKOW. It’s the second to dry up in the last few weeks, and could be related to ongoing construction at the Meta site.

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💡 Large customer rate cases plod along.

Two utilities are asking state regulators to sign off on contracts with Meta, Microsoft, and Stargate. Those contracts would determine the rates that tech companies pay to power their data centers — and whether it affects your pocketbook.

Wisconsin Power and Light (Alliant, close enough) is asking for sign-off for an individual rate with Meta in Beaver Dam. As of yesterday (Friday, April 10), a draft decision matrix had been posted in the case, which details the eleven main questions that PSC thinks it needs to decide. Among them: How long should the agreement last? Are charges reasonable? And what will Meta be on the hook for if the bubble pops, and they walk away?

We Energies is asking for sign-off on two new tariffs for “very large customers” and “bespoke resources.” A decision matrix in this case was posted about two weeks ago, meaning this case is likely to be decided first.

This case is somewhat more intricate, even asking where the tariff should start to apply. 500 MW? 250 MW? Or how about 100MW? Who bears the risk if things don’t go as planned? What kind of monitoring should happen? And many more complex arguments to define, and then mitigate, harm.

Earlier this week, WORT honed in on data centers, with a particular focus on these rate cases. I joined Tom Content from the Citizens Utility Board as a guest.

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💡 April 1 was rate day.

We Energies / Wisconsin Gas and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation are seeking to raise their electric and natural gas rates. You can start to dig through the applications online. (In my experience, the spreadsheets tend to be redacted, but the testimony has the juicy detail):

• 6690-UR-129: Application of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation for Authority to Adjust Electric and Natural Gas Rates
• 5-UR-112: Joint Application of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC for Authority to Adjust Electric, Natural Gas, and Steam Rates.

Rates are usually decided in the week after the November election, and if approved, take effect January 1 of the following year.

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💡 ATC, and perhaps We Energies, eye competition as such a drag

Here’s a good time to introduce a fun fact — ATC is the nation’s first transmission-only utility. It was formed in 2001 by the Wisconsin Legislature, out of the “same nationwide deregulation movement that spawned Enron,” according to this fantastic piece in Isthmus from 2007.

Here’s another fun fact: ATC is owned by other utility companies. They’re more than 60% owned by WEC Energy Group, which is the parent company to We Energies, the same utility slated to power the Microsoft campus in Racine County, along with the Stargate campus in Port Washington.

Which is why it’s interesting that ATC and a coalition of other utilities, including Xcel, are asking federal regulators at FERC to temporarily pause a requirement to bid competitively on transmission projects. A complaint was filed on Tuesday, and now other groups have asked to intervene.

If you read associated testimony from Robert J. McKee, Director of Interconnection Solutions for ATC Management Inc, the corporate manager of American Transmission Company LLC, , you’ll come across this nugget:

The testimony goes on to bemoan that ATC’s application to build three substations —in Fond du Lac, Ozaukee, and Sheboygan counties — for the Port Washington project were denied in favor of Viridon.

But MISO (the Midwest regional grid operator) reassigned the substations to ATC last month, after it became clear Viridon could not complete the substations by December 2027.

“This episode,” says McKee, “demonstrates the needless uncertainty and delay for transmission and large load customers, such as data center developers, caused by MISO’s Order No. 1000 solicitation process.”

Wisconsin Watch has a good roundup on the broad strokes of the argument: (Utilities seek federal pause on grid bidding amid AI-driven power demand). Consumer advocates, of course, argue that competition is good, and saves the customer money.

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Events in brief

• Tuesday, April 14: Data Centers and a Sustainable Future (Madison, 8am)
  
  Sustain Dane will host a breakfast series in Madison on data centers and a sustainable future (note: QTS has maintained its $1.5 million commitment to UW researchers on data center sustainability). Register.
• Tuesday, April 14: Dane County Advisory Committee on Data Centers (Madison, 12pm). Dane County’s advisory committee on data centers will hold its monthly meeting. According to an agenda, they’ll get an update on data center legislation, hear from the Wisconsin Farmers Union on data centers, and give some context to Dane County land use.
• Tuesday, April 14: Hearing for Vantage’s air pollution permit (Virtual, 12pm). You can register online. The permit and other documents are filed under the “Permits and Permit Applications” tab here.
• Tuesday, April 21: Rock County Data Center Town Hall (Blackhawk Tech College, 6-8pm). Organized by No Beloit Data Center. More information here.
• Wednesday, April 22: Data Centers in Grant County (Lancaster, 7pm).
  
  The Grant County Farm Bureau will host an informational meeting on data centers.
• Wednesday, April 22: Water@UW-Madison Spring symposium (Madison, 2-5pm).A data science professor will given an overview on the “good, bad, and complicated” of AI use. A water policy expert will present on the “hidden environmental costs of AI data centers.” Free, but register.
• Thursday, April 23: ICE and Data Centers (Sheboygan, 6pm).
  
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Sheboygan on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Friday, April 24: ICE and Data Centers (Manitowoc, 4pm).
  
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Manitowoc on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Monday, April 27: Brownfield basics (Janesville, 5:15pm). The last in a series of data center workshops. More information here.
• Thursday, April 30: Wisconsin Tech Summit (Oshkosh Corp. headquarters, $$). This year’s annual summit is focused on AI in industry, especially in health care, finance, ag, energy, and manufacturing. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, of UW-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, will deliver a keynote. Full speaker list here, and more info.

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That’s all for now!

This weekly newsletter is attempting to do something a little different: round up the data center news across Wisconsin, and present the patterns that emerge.

I’m starting this out of a personal habit of aggregating developments and data center news, and a way to organize notes for longer research projects. Then I figured, why not share the notes with you?

Thanks for reading Data Processor! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Data center typologies

The phrase “data center” may have suffered some linguistic slippage.

News reports, for example, will cite datacentermap.com to say that there are now 52 data centers in Wisconsin. But dozens of those are not the ones generating headlines and community controversy. Many of them have been in Wisconsin for decades.

“Rooms that house computers have been around long before we started talking about data centers as a large server room,” said Terry Bradshaw, Data Center Service Lead at UW-Madison’s Department of Information Technology, in a presentation to a Dane County advisory committee on data centers last month. He says there are four main categories we can use to think about these facilities. So let’s start there.

The first is an enterprise data center, which is operated for the purposes of one entity — like a hospital system or a university. UW-Madison’s data centers, for example, fall in this bucket.

Already, this can start to make regulation complicated. In January, the city of Madison imposed a one-year moratorium on data centers, and the city hasn’t had a separate “data center” category in the zoning code. City planners are still working to get an accurate count of the number of data centers in the city as they more broadly develop recommendations for zoning.

Since the moratorium was approved, some businesses with existing data centers supporting their operations have reached out to the city, says Meagan Tuttle, director of Madison’s planning division, who spoke with me this week. They were, she says, “interested in understanding what the moratorium means for them, in terms of continuing to operate the businesses that they are already running.”

I asked her how these facilities might be zoned right now. Standalone facilities, she says, would have likely been regulated as a telecommunication center in a commercial use zoning, Something like an office building with its own server room would have likely been considered an accessory use.

The next type of facility is a colocation center, which you can think about as a hotel or apartment building. It’s a business that rents you space, power, temperature controls, and other infrastructure. You just use a portion of the building for your own servers, and your own data.

Colocated data centers, though, don’t get the same tax breaks. Last week in our legislation round-up, I mentioned a bill to amend the definition of a “qualified” data center so that these types of facilities, if over 25,000 sq. ft., would be eligible for sales and use tax exemptions made possible in the 2023 state budget.

Ark Data Centers is a national colocation data center provider. It has a 24-acre campus in a village near Green Bay, and wants to expand. But, said Ark’s interim CEO John Kehoe in testimony, it didn’t get the deal that large-scale data centers with a single tenant currently enjoy. Consequently, Ark says it had no option but to cancel investments and divert customers to other states with tax breaks. The bill, by the way, failed.

Ark is also an edge data center, our third typology. In an information economy, speed is everything, and edge data centers prevent lag. This type of data center gets information physically closer to the end consumer, reducing the physical transmission time, and making your Netflix streaming eminently less choppy.

And then our fourth typology: hyperscale data centers. These, says Bradshaw, “take everything up to eleven.” The elements aren’t so different from the above — they can be an enterprise or colocated center — but they’re just much bigger.

Beyond these categories, though, the physical components of a data center can be similar in need, though different in execution. There’s the whitespace of the server room, where all the data actually lives. There’s the power infrastructure: the utility grid, substations, switchgear, transformers, etc. that are keeping the data online. There’s back-up power, the UPS batteries or even diesel generators for outages.

Then there’s the cooling, which Bradshaw explains usually happens on two loops. The first loop pulls heat away from the individual chips, traditionally through fans circulating air, though the industry is increasingly moving to coolant that’s “direct to chip.” The second loop takes the heat directly out of the room, and to somewhere else — usually the atmosphere. (Researchers recently looked at the change in surface temperatures near hyperscale data centers).

Bradshaw says that the second loop typically runs on what is, essentially, antifreeze. There’s a mix of water and ethylene or propylene glycol. UW-Madison’s main facility has about 5,000 gallons of coolant in its loop, and since 2009, they’ve never done a full flush of it.

The exception here is what’s called an open loop, which uses evaporative cooling, and performs the work that electricity would otherwise do. And it’s a tradeoff: strategies that reduce electricity consumption can tend to increase water consumption, and vice versa.

A large open-loop system might use millions of gallons a day, but it uses less electricity that it would otherwise need to cool. Neither option is free. (Check the events calendar below for details on an event next week on the energy-water nexus.)

So those are the non-exclusive buckets for thinking about data centers. And it’s the set-up for our installment next week, when we’ll actually go inside a data center.

It’s a data center its operators say was done right, with sustainability at the forefront. One that is profitable, but not with profits driving the design. And while it’s outside the state of Wisconsin, it’s only a 75 minute drive away.

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Other news in brief

Governor Tony Evers was on a bill-signing marathon on Thursday, April 2, signing his approval on some legislation related to data center and energy.

Among the most interesting is a sales and use tax exemption for nuclear fusion. The bill was endorsed by several industrial groups and by Madison-based Realta Fusion, one of dozens of companies that are “leveraging the latest scientific breakthroughs to put fusion power plants on the grid by the mid-2030s,” Realta’s CEO and co-founder wrote in public testimony on the bill.

Nuclear energy groups are “receiving enormous amounts of cash investment” to meet the demand for nuclear fusion, and nuclear fusion investors “are often the same tech companies that are involved in building data centers for AI projects,” reports Wisconsin Public Radio (How Wisconsin’s data centers could be powered with fusion energy in the next decade | January 22, 2026)

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Another bill signed into law will extend Wisconsin’s existing “utility aid payment” system to cover energy storage facilities: hydroelectric, compressed air, regenerative fuel cells, batteries, and liquefied natural gas.

The payments are from the public utility account, a fund within the state’s shared revenue system that compensates local governments for hosting utility infrastructure they can’t put on their own property tax rolls.

In testimony, WEC Energy Group said the bill “ensures that communities that host modern energy projects are fairly compensated.”

MG&E said it would benefit communities where the utility owns or plans to own battery capacity, including the Paris Solar Battery Park in Kenosha County, the Sunnyside Solar Energy Center in Fitchburg, the High Noon Solar Energy Center in Columbia County, and the Darien Solar Energy Center in Rock and Walworth Counties.

The payments are slated to take effect in 2027.

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Speaking of liquified natural gas, the Town of Rock Zoning Commission reportedly tabled a conditional use permit application for a plant proposed by Alliant, following a public hearing the same night.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/w-fHddxB3hA?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

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It’s rate hike season. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that We Energies is seeking a rate hike for residential and business customers. If approved, it would be the sixth rate hike since 2020. (We Energies seeks 14% residential electric rate hike by 2028 | April 1)

We Energies says under the hike, “the typical residential electric bill is projected to increase about $13 per month in 2027 and $8 to $9 per month in 2028.”

Also, We Energies is considering delaying the closure of its Oak Creek coal plant until 2027, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reports (We Energies delays Oak Creek coal plant closure again | Friday, April 3)

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One of the biggest concerns voiced by attendees at a virtual town hall on Wednesday, hosted by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, was the “pressure that data centers’ massive energy use will put on regular Wisconsinites’ energy bills and the effect that increased energy use will have on the climate,” reports the Wisconsin Examiner in a recap. (Wisconsinites decry data center effects on utility bills, climate in online town hall | Thursday, April 2)

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Charlie Berens is definitely not running for governor, but he’s still a vocal opponent of hyperscale data centers. In a prank platform, the comedian/journalist calls for no NDAs for AI data centers along with “lobbying in Kohl’s Cash only.” (bratsnotbots.com | Tues. April 1)

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Energy economics professors Jason M. Walter and Eric Olson break down what’s known as CWIP, or construction work in progress, in a special in the opinion section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Simply put, CWIP is a mechanism that means consumers fund infrastructure as it’s being built. A few months ago, the professors tracked legislation in Wisconsin and other states that would allow consumers to start paying for project costs before those projects are even approved. (Why should WI pay for data center costs before they exist? | March 31)

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A new study looked at temperature data near thousands of hyperscale data centers. Researchers at the University of Cambridge found a correlation of a several-degree rise in surface temperatures. As caution, the study hasn’t been peer-reviewed. (CNN: Scientists have found an alarming environmental impact of vast data centers; The Independent: Data centers are creating ‘heat islands’ on land around them | Tuesday, March 31)

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The Beaver Dam Plan Commission has recommended changing the boundaries of a TIF district, making way for a second data center, this one a 90,000 sq ft edge data center. More expected at next Monday’s council meeting. (Daily Dodge: Plan commission sends TID 7 change to Beaver Dam common council | March 26, 2026).

Meanwhile, representatives from Meta, Alliant, and the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation joined WBEV for an interview on Thursday. Despite the name of the program, there wasn’t much room for community comment. The guests requested not to take listener calls.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Yi-g-tsJswY?start=73&rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

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Manitowoc County is closer to establishing a one-year moratorium on permitting data centers, reports Wisconsin Public Radio. It still would have to be approved by the county board, and a vote is expected later this month. But as in other counties (including Dane!), towns that have opted out of county zoning would be on their own.

Cloverleaf’s chief development officer says “We continue to see northeast Wisconsin as a good opportunity for data centers due to proximity to infrastructure and generation assets in the region.” (Manitowoc County committee recommends 1-year moratorium on data center permitting | Friday, April 3)

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Politico’s energy and environmental desk drops in on Janesville, meditating on the fact that former industrial properties classified as brownfields might make sense for data centers given their water and power infrastructure.

It also notes this: in January, the EPA published guidance on redeveloping Superfund and brownfield sites as AI data centers.

And this: In late 2024, Janesville sought a $20 million grant to redevelop the site. The program was canceled by the Trump Administration. (No one wanted to redevelop this polluted property. Then came AI. | Monday, March 30)

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Events in brief

• Wednesday, April 8: Data Centers and the Energy-Water Nexus (Lubar Center, UW-Milwaukee, 9am). A panel on the connection between energy generation and clean water will include the Citizens Utility Board, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, and WEC Energy Group; moderated by David Strifling, director of the Water Law and Policy Initiative, and lawyer and professor Art Harrington.
• Tuesday, April 14: Data Centers and a Sustainable Future (Madison, 8am)
  
  Sustain Dane will host a breakfast series in Madison on data centers and a sustainable future (note: QTS has maintained its $1.5 million commitment to UW researchers on data center sustainability). Register.
• Tuesday, April 14: Dane County Advisory Committee on Data Centers (Madison, 12pm). Dane County’s advisory committee on data centers will hold its monthly meeting.
• Tuesday, April 21: Rock County Data Center Town Hall (Blackhawk Tech College, 6-8pm). Organized by No Beloit Data Center. More information here.
• Wednesday, April 22: Data Centers in Grant County (Lancaster, 7pm).
  
  The Grant County Farm Bureau will host an informational meeting on data centers.
• Thursday, April 23: ICE and Data Centers (Sheboygan, 6pm).
  
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Sheboygan on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Friday, April 24: ICE and Data Centers (Manitowoc, 4pm).
  
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Manitowoc on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Thursday, April 30: Wisconsin Tech Summit (Oshkosh Corp. headquarters, $$). This year’s annual summit is focused on AI in industry, especially in health care, finance, ag, energy, and manufacturing. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, of UW-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, will deliver a keynote. Full speaker list here, and more info.

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That’s all for now!

This weekly newsletter is attempting to do something a little different: round up the data center news across Wisconsin, and present the patterns that emerge.

I’m starting this out of a personal habit of aggregating developments and data center news, and a way to organize notes for longer research projects. Then I figured, why not share the notes with you?

Thanks for reading Data Processor! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Two proposals for large data centers are before Rock County. One, a proposal from Colorado-based Viridian Acquisitions LLC to redevelop the long-shuttered GM-JATCO site in Janesville. Another, just twelve minutes south, is a preliminary plan from Meta to build in the most northwestern corner of the town of Beloit.

The first proposal is headed to a community vote this November, which city officials warn could trigger legal issues. The second is more elusive, but became public earlier this month, when WKOW reported that at least some local officials have known about “Project Cornmaze” for over a year. Last weekend, I found myself acquainting myself with the project’s potential edges.

Along East Philhower Road, there’s the brown scrub of farmland, the checkered red and white of cement mixers at a concrete company, a rifle club, and a shuttered drive-in called the Circus. Just a block south is a residential community.

Along Town Road, there’s a sand and quarry pit from Rock Road LLC, a company associated with Project Cornmaze in the DNR filings. ATC lines run above. Across the road is a manufactured housing community. Just a minute north is Blackhawk Tech College, and a minute west is the Rock River.

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I was there last Saturday for a town hall, attended by one gubernatorial candidate, one Janesville city council member, and a pair of organizers from Port Washington.

The basement of The Castle, a Gothic church turned community space, is also a fallout shelter. The reclaimed wooden chairs are creaky and a resident corgi named Lady is sleeping in a corner. Data center opponents are most of the crowd, and State Rep. Francesca Hong is giving a considered pause before answering this question: why are data centers coming to Wisconsin?

“In places like Beloit [and] Janesville, if we think about parts of central Wisconsin, over the past twenty some years now, we have seen a massive loss in middle manufacturing and good-paying jobs,” says Hong.

“When those jobs went overseas, when corporations once again put profits over the dignity of life that everyone deserves, we saw this decimation and decline in smaller communities which makes us more vulnerable.”

Hong is polling ahead of her Democratic competitors for governor, in a crowded primary. Data centers are one way the candidates are differentiating themselves. Hong is also one of several Democratic lawmakers this session to introduce a bill for a moratorium on hyperscale data centers. The variety of unknowns driven by the speed and scale of data center growth, she says, means “we have to hit pause.”

The legislation didn’t pass and unsurprisingly, it didn’t get a hearing in either chamber’s utility committee. Instead, it laid out a fourteen-point plan of fiscal and regulatory measures, among them: a statewide data center planning authority, mandatory reporting on water and electric use, sign-off from voters in advance, a requirement that data centers are fully powered by renewable energy, and the elimination of financial breaks that lawmakers put into place just three years ago and again this session. (Nationally this week, progressive lawmakers announced similar legislation.)

Talk of economic developments and investments, Hong says, are just that. Talk. “Why should the state go into business and take a gamble on companies that are coming in with borrowed money?” she tells the crowd. “The financing on this is deeply irresponsible.”

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Data center proposals in Rock, Racine, and Port Washington have some commonalities. They’re in blue-collar parts of the state that have been hollowed out by deindustrialization. Michael Rosen, retired professor of economics at Milwaukee Area Technical College, rattled off employers to me just some of the employers that have left Milwaukee in the last sixty years: AO Smith, Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson, Master Lock, Allis Chalmers. In Kenosha, the Chrysler plant, which shut down in ‘88. In Janesville, the GM plant, which shut down in ‘08.

These are just some. In the same areas, the people constructing the facilities, and (some of the) labor unions that are eager to build them, could be constructing the places that could take more jobs. A 2018 study on manufacturing trends produced by UW Extension found that under one probability matrix, almost 70% of manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin had a 60% chance or higher of being automated.

“We have no idea what AI’s impact is going to be on employment and jobs. Now we’ve seen what deindustrialization has done to the people there, and what that’s done to their futures and their children’s futures, and what it’s done to the politics of those communities. We’ve already gone through this dramatic change, and we should recognize that AI could have a similar impact on employment,” Rosen told me.

“And before we allow companies that are making money off this stuff to just rush… into it, we need to have some serious discussion and policy development to ensure that the citizens of this country are not thrown by the wayside.”

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The latest controversy in Rock County this week, though, is over a tool some say limits transparency, and what others call standard economic development. During the “No Data Centers in Beloit” town hall last Saturday, one man got up during the Q&A not with a question, but with a call to action.

Phil Gorman is a Rock County Supervisor, representing both the city and town of Beloit, and is running for reelection this spring. He told the crowd that he found out from the media earlier this month that the Meta data center is being planned in his district. That motivated him to write a resolution prohibiting county employees from entering into NDAs in the future.

“The best way to freeze these things and kill these things is with some transparency. As soon as it gets out in the open, these companies pull out, people show up, people get educated, and they go away. And the best way to do that on the county level, on your local level, is to ban or limit these NDAs,” Gorman told the town hall crowd to applause. The New York Times reports this week that $156 billion in new data center construction has been stalled due to local opposition.

Gorman says he didn’t know that James Otterstein, the Economic Development Manager for Rock County, had signed a nondisclosure agreement related to the Meta development. Tim Wellnitz, Town Administrator for Beloit, also signed a nondisclosure agreement in February 2025 with Cambrin LLC, the company associated with other Meta projects. The agreements have been used in four other developments across the state, Wisconsin Watch reported two weeks ago.

Gorman’s resolution went before the Planning and Development Committee on Thursday, which voted against recommending it.

In testimony, Gorman explained that part of the reason for bringing up this discussion at the county level was because state or federal regulations are silent on guardrails. And he was careful to distinguish between types of agreements.

NDAs to protect true trade secrets, he says, are “perfectly fine.” But NDAs to prevent the fact that there is a project being planned, are not. Gorman says, in Wisconsin, and with data centers, NDAs are at best a delaying tactic. Under the state’s open records law, they’re not a way to keep a project permanently confidential.

One company is catching on that NDAs aren’t popular. Microsoft said last week they’d stop the practice. But some testified that Gorman’s resolution would harm the county’s ability to compete, and prevent Otterstein from doing his job.

Rock County Supervisor Chris Cullen says a ban on NDAs would be an unnecessary hurdle to doing business. “Everybody talks about transparency. That’s BS. Transparency is overrated. The hard discussion, the logical discussion, the arguing, take place in private. And you have to look at the results. I think we’re getting a carrot in front of the cart,” said Cullen. The agreements are standard business, he argued, while raising this question: aren’t we only having this conversation because of data centers?

Republican lawmakers introduced a bill this session to curtail NDAs if they’re used to conceal public details of data center deals. The Senate version made it through the utility committee, but the Assembly version was dead on arrival. Under this bill too, NDAs to protect trade secrets would still be allowed. Is it possible that, in tough competition and billions to be made, the location or size of a data center could be considered a trade secret? We didn’t get that far.

Another Rock County Supervisor, who declined to be named, tells me that NDAs are a standard tool of economic development. They also told me this: Otterstein is “not the boogeyman.”

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Can Rock County’s current infrastructure handle one, two, or more data centers? For at least the GM proposal, water, says the director of Janesville’s water utility, shouldn’t be a problem. In a presentation at the start of this week, Director Dave Botts pointed to the fact that the city pumped less than half of its available capacity in 2025. And after talking with data center consultants working on Mount Pleasant and Racine projects, Botts says a closed loop system means wastewater would also not be an issue.

What about the air? Beloit’s air pollution is the worst in the nation, according to a 2023 air quality report from IQAir. But Beloit only made the list because of a community project to install air monitors.

Yusuf Adama, one of the panelists at Saturday’s town hall, is a Beloit city council member. Wisconsin’s air quality, he says, is so under-monitored that we can’t make good decisions. “We don’t have the proper information to make sure we’re doing this safely,” says Adama.

Milwaukee and Sheboygan County are listed as nonattainment areas for ozone under the Clean Air Act, according to February data from the EPA. But like Beloit, it’s tough to get all of the data.

“In some of these areas where we’ve seen a lot of proposals, either from data centers or gas plants related to data centers, we’re finding more and more that the baseline air quality is either completely unchecked and we’re going to add to it without knowing what’s really already there. That’s true for spots like Rock County,” says Abby Novinska-Lois, Executive Director of Health Climate Wisconsin.

And — like as is true in other subject areas, like energy regulation — Wisconsin doesn’t have a plan that takes all projects into account when deciding a proposal. “We do not have a cumulative health or cumulative air quality policy,” says Novinska-Lois. Some other states take into account neighboring projects when deciding air permits, and it’s an approach that’s recommended by the EPA. But Wisconsin’s DNR doesn’t, because it can’t. It’s waiting for permission to do so from the state Legislature, she adds.

In places like Oak Creek, Kenosha, and Beloit, proposals from data centers and power projects to fuel them add up — and problems with the baseline air quality compound. Hyperscalers, for one, need diesel backup generators, a power source that is deeply polluting and linked to negative health outcomes, says Novinska-Lois. Those generators require permits. (Here’s Vantage’s permit application, which is now taking public comment.)

Then there are applications for powering the increasingly-taxed power grid, as utility companies that are experiencing in increase in demand rush to increase their supply. Wisconsin Power and Light (parent company: Alliant) is pursuing an application to build a liquid natural gas plant in the town of Afton. The proposed site is located just two miles from the area mapped in DNR filings by the Meta shell corporation. It’s a four-minute drive west along W B R Townline Road.

The plant, says WPL (Alliant), will meet their forecast peak demand for natural gas. It would be two billion cubic feet, or 25 million gallons, and cost roughly $694 million. It would be filled in non-peak periods, when natural gas prices are lower, and discharged in the winter when prices peak.

WPL says it doesn’t currently operate an LNG storage facility, but similar facilities have been safely operated across the country for years, with two already running in Wisconsin. If approved, the project would be complete by January 2030.

Public comment is mostly not friendly to the project, citing Janesville and Beloit’s poor air quality and asthma rates. Among them, Yusuf Adama, the Beloit councilmember, who wrote last summer: “Beloit and the surrounding region already bear the burdens of industrial pollution and poor air quality. Adding a massive LNG facility would only exacerbate these issues, increasing health risks for residents — especially children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.”

Next Monday, the Town of Rock’s Planning and Zoning Committee will hold a public hearing over whether to issue a conditional use permit to build the plant. Unpacking how and why zoning in Rock County is left almost completely to municipalities, not the county, is a story for another time.

Email cutting off? Read it online.

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A data center legislation cheat sheet

Eight months out from the November election, the Wisconsin Legislature has finished up its regular lawmaking for the year. More could still pass in one or more special sessions, but it’s likely the next time legislators will tackle any data center questions is in 2027.

Data centers and utility regulation will almost certainly be an issue in the governor’s race this summer. I thought this would be an appropriate point to map the various data center proposals this session, which have generated so many headlines but little follow-up. This list ignores data center legislation before 2025.

A moratorium on data centers

• Read it: Senate Bill 1061 / Assembly Bill 1099
• What it would’ve done: The bill would’ve imposed a moratorium on data centers in Wisconsin until a broad swath of proposals are enacted: in utility and water regulation, voter sign-off, and the elimination of fiscal measures.
• The politics of it all: Progressives loved it, but it was unlikely to pass a legislature that approved tax breaks for data centers in 2023.
• Where did it land? The bill failed. It didn’t get a hearing in either chamber.

Large energy customer fees

• Read it: Assembly Bill 722 / Senate Bill 729
• What it would’ve done: The bill is a smorgasbord, but it would have outlined specifics for “large load” energy customers. It said that in order to qualify for tax breaks, qualified data centers would need to get certified, and be powered by at least 70% renewable energy. It also would’ve set minimum wages for labor and required water use reports from data centers.
• The politics of it all: Democrats, led by Sen. Jodi Habush-Sinykin, introduced this bill last fall, just after polling showing that data centers are unpopular in Wisconsin. It was an attempt to address common concerns listed by communities and those opposed, and had the support of environmental groups and labor. In testimony, Alliant Energy pointed out that the Public Service Commission is already charged with fair rate-making, and the legislation lacked clear definition.
• Where did it end up? The bill failed. It got a hearing in the Senate, but didn’t make it out of either committee.

Requirements related to data centers

• Read it: Assembly Bill 840 / Senate Bill 843
• What it would’ve done: This is the Republican answer to the Democratic bill described above. It contains less technical language, but also requires that the PSC ensure consumers don’t feel squeezed in their electric bills because of data centers. It also requires that renewable energy projects serving data centers be located on-site, which is a high bar to clear. It also requires annual reports on data center water use and for data centers to use closed loop systems.
• The politics of it all: More than two dozen groups registered on the bill, but no one registered in favor of it. In public hearing, the Janesville City Manager testified in support of most of the provisions, but objected to requiring closed loop water systems. The Public Service Commission took the unusual step of testifying, saying it was largely redundant legislation but that the “the terminology used in the proposed bill could invite litigation and cause confusion.”
• Where did it end up? It passed the Assembly, 53-44, in January. It passed through two committees in the Senate, but didn’t get a final vote.

Prohibiting NDAs

• Read it: Assembly Bill 1036/ Senate Bill 969
• What it would have done: It would have prohibited nondisclosure agreements intended to conceal information about a data center from the public.
• The politics of it all: Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce opposed the bill, characterizing NDAs as a common economic development tool. “Companies and developers routinely request NDAs to protect proprietary information, trade secrets, financing strategies, and competitive site selection criteria until a dealreaches a stage where disclosure will not jeopardize financing, market position, or negotiations in other states,” they wrote in testimony. The Wisconsin Data Center Coalition said, “We support transparency. We oppose a blanket ban.”
• Where did it end up? The bill failed. It passed through a Senate committee, but didn’t get a hearing in the Assembly.

TIF Districts containing data centers

• Read it: Assembly Bill 228/ Senate Bill 241
• What it would have done: Currently, the Legislature needs to specially approve instances where local governments want to exceed the “12 percent rule” for tax increment financing, or TIF. Local governments need to ask lawmakers for approval to put more than 12% of its total property value inside TIDs. This was approved, for example, in Beaver Dam and Port Washington. This bill would have eliminated that requirement to ask the Legislature each time, for data center projects only, to exceed the cap.
• The politics of it all: Data centers, utility companies, and business groups lobbied in support.
• Where did it end up? The bill failed. It didn’t get a hearing in either chamber.

Local approval for wind and solar projects

• Read it: Assembly Bill 7 / Senate Bill 3
• What it would have done: Right now, the PSC has the authority to site wind and solar projects. They don’t have to take local zoning into account for projects of a certain size. This bill would have changed that, requiring the PSC to get the permission of local governments before siting a project.
• The politics of it all: Renewable energy projects, which use large amounts of land, are themselves controversial in rural communities. But if enough local governments say not in my backyard, then there’d be few places to build renewable energy projects. You see the rub?
• Where did it end up? The bill failed. It didn’t pass out of either committee, but did get a hearing in the Senate.

Expanding tax credits to co-located data centers

• Read it: Senate Bill 244 / Assembly Bill 245
• What it would have done: Remember those 2023 tax breaks for “qualified” data centers? There are rules for which types of data centers qualify, and currently, the tax breaks leave out “co-located data centers.” These were described to me as a like a data center condominium. There are multiple tenants, renting space, within a larger facility.
• The politics of it all: This bill was introduced by Sen. Romaine Quinn and Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, who also played a key role in getting the original data center tax breaks signed into the budget in 2023.
• Where did it end up? The bill failed. The Assembly Ways and Means Committee approved it, but the powerful Joint Finance Committee did not take it up. It didn’t get a hearing in the Senate.

Competitive bidding for transmission projects

• Read it: Senate Bill 174
• What it would have done: This is a highly technical bill that would have required competitive bidding and audits for major transmission projects. It would’ve limited limiting how much large-scale wind and solar could be built in any one place, and granted utilities first rights to build regional transmission lines.
• Where did it end up? The bill failed. It didn’t get a hearing in the Senate, and a companion bill doesn’t appear to exist in the Assembly.

Lastly, it’s clear that this session the Legislature and the Governor had their eye on another target: nuclear energy, one potential answer to fueling the high energy demands of data centers.

And nuclear energy seems to be somewhat bipartisan. Among this session’s proposals are a nuclear energy generation tax credit (Assembly Bill 472 / Senate Bill 502), a nuclear power siting study (Wisconsin Act 12 / Senate Bill 125), a nuclear power summit (Wisconsin Act 11 / Senate Bill 124), and a sales and use tax exemption for nuclear fusion (Assembly Bill 657 / Senate Bill 636). This last last one passed the Senate earlier this month, but hasn’t been signed by the Governor.

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News in brief

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin data centers’ water use raises environmental concerns. Reader questions on closed loop systems and wastewater. (Friday, Match 27)
• WISN: What’s that sound? It’s Mount Pleasant’s new AI data center. This is just from my ears, but the tone appears to be the sound that symphony orchestras use to warm up. (Thursday, March 26)
• WIRED: Senators demand to know how much energy data centers use. Liz Warren and Josh Hawley are pressing the Energy Information Administration to collect data on annual energy used by data centers. Nailing that number down has been hard, and, they write, that information is “essential for accurate grid planning.” (Thursday, March 26)
• The New York Times: Local opposition is slowing A.I data centers. Wall Street has noticed. According to Data Center Watch, “at least $156 billion across 48 projects with publicly disclosed values was blocked or stalled amid coordinated local opposition in 2025.” (Thursday, March 26)
• The Atlantic: Welcome to a multidimensional economic disaster. If it’s a bubble, what happens when it pops? (Thursday, March 26)
• WeAreGreenBay: Green Bay leaders discuss AI data centers at UWGB event. Coverage of a forum hosted by an economic development agency. (Thursday, March 26)
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will Wisconsin residents pay for data center power? The Public Service Commission is expected to decide a rate case from WE Energies in the next month. (Wednesday, March 25)
• The Guardian: Bernie Sanders and AOC introduce bill to pause building of new datacenters. The bill would direct the Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on the finances, water and energy use, emissions, wastewater, noise, labor, jobs, and agreements for each AI data center. It would also require “ certification that the artificial intelligence data center has not utilized any federal, state, or local subsidies.” (Wednesday, March 25)
• MinnPost (opinion section): Google just bought your Minnesota vacationland for a data center. A proposed hyperscaler in Minnesota developed by a Google shell corporation involved 22 non-disclosure agreements, writes Hermantown resident Rebecca Gilbertson. She points out that Minnesota Power/ALLETE was purchased by a subsidiary of BlackRock in October, and BlackRock owns a 5-7% share of Google. (Wednesday, March 25)
• New York Times: Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case. Echoing a claim about addiction that worked in Big Tobacco litigation, a California jury agreed with the novel legal theory that social media can cause injury. (Wednesday, March 25)
• New York Times:Meta ordered to pay $375 million over child safety violations. Meta plans to appeal. (Tuesday, March 24)
• Wisconsin Watch: Competition intensifies over who builds Wisconsin’s grid as data centers drive power demand. Not directly in the article, but here’s how I think about it: MISO, the Midwest regional grid operator, is like an air traffic controller. They decide which projects can connect to the grid and when. MISO’s reversed a decision for private-equity owned Viridon to build substations in eastern Wisconsin, handing it back to ATC, the nation’s oldest standalone transmission company which is itself owned by utilities. (Tuesday, March 24)
• Big Radio: Utility director says Janesville’s water infrastructure can handle data center needs. Utility Director David Botts says the city only used about 48% of the city’s reliable water resources in 2025. (Tuesday, March 24)
• Crain’s Chicago Business: AI’s expanding footprint comes with a big thirst for water. Lots of good background on projects on other states, along with statistics on projected water use. A common refrain from water experts by now: data centers “double dip” their water use, both cooling chips and in generating electricity necessary for them. (Monday, March 23)
• Wisconsin Watch: Local data center critics praise Microsoft’s pledge to stop using NDAs, but remain skeptical. Microsoft has pledged to stop signing NDAs , and it’s earning measured praise. (Monday, March 23)
• Illinois Farmer Today: Opponents gather to talk about risks of data center. More coverage of the town hall in Beaver Dam earlier this month. (Sunday, March 22)
• 404 Media: Tiny township fears Iran drone strikes because of new nuclear weapons datacenter. The township of Ypsilanti, Michigan, population 20,000, would service nuclear research performed by Los Alamos National Laboratories. Opponents say it puts a bullseye on their home. (Friday, March 20)
• Public News Service: Rural WI faces dual concerns over data centers, CAFOs. They’re both instances of large land uses that are extracting wealth, says an organizer. (Friday, March 20)

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Events in brief

• Friday, March 27: Project Lighthouse Career Expo (Port Washington High School, 4-7pm). Vantage and partners will be onsite with more information on open roles, particularly engineering and management.
• Saturday, March 28: Project Lighthouse Career Expo (Port Washington High School, 10am – 2pm). Vantage and partners will be onsite with more information on open roles, particularly engineering and management.
• Monday, March 30: LNG Public Hearing (Afton, WI at 6:30 pm).
  The Town of Rock Planning and Zoning Committee will hold a public hearing over issuing a conditional use permit for Alliant (Wisconsin Power and Light) to build a liquid natural gas plant along WBR Townline Road.
• Wednesday, April 1: Town Hall on Data Centers and Utility Rates (Virtual via zoom at 6pm). Citizen Action of Wisconsin will hold a town hall on data centers and utility rates. Virtual; register here.
• Wednesday, April 8: Data Centers and the Energy-Water Nexus (Lubar Center, UW-Milwaukee, 9am). A panel on the connection between energy generation and clean water will include Citizens Utility Board, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, and WEC Energy Group; moderated by David Strifling, director of the Water Law and Policy Initiative, and lawyer and professor Art Harrington.
• Tuesday, April 14: Data Centers and a Sustainable Future (Madison, 8am) Sustain Dane will host a breakfast series in Madison on data centers and a sustainable future (note: QTS has maintained its $1.5 million commitment to UW researchers on data center sustainability). Register.
• Tuesday, April 14: Dane County Advisory Committee on Data Centers (Madison, 12pm). Dane County’s advisory committee on data centers will hold its monthly meeting.
• Wednesday, April 22: Data Centers in Grant County (Lancaster, 7pm).
  The Grant County Farm Bureau will host an informational meeting on data centers.
• Thursday, April 23: ICE and Data Centers (Sheboygan, 6pm).
  Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Sheboygan on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Friday, April 24: ICE and Data Centers (Manitowoc, 4pm). Labor organizer Ric Urrutia, co-host of the Wisconsin Labor Podcast, will present in Manitowoc on what he terms the “interlocking corporate and banking interests of ICE and data center owners.” More info.
• Thursday, April 30: Wisconsin Tech Summit (Oshkosh Corp. headquarters, $$). This year’s annual summit is focused on AI in industry, especially in health care, finance, ag, energy, and manufacturing. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, of UW-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, will deliver a keynote. Full speaker list here, and more info.

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That’s all for now!

This weekly newsletter is attempting to do something a little different: round up the data center news across Wisconsin, and present the patterns that emerge.

I’m starting this out of a personal habit of aggregating developments and data center news, and a way to organize notes for longer research projects. Then I figured, why not share the notes with you?

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