Aerial view of the Microsoft’s data center in Mount Pleasant
See an aerial view of the Microsoft’s data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
- The rise of the digital economy and AI has increased the need for data centers, with 46 currently in Wisconsin and more planned.
- Data centers have drawn criticism for their significant water and energy consumption, with some using as much water as a small city.
- Many data center operators lack transparency, often signing non-disclosure agreements with local governments about their water usage.
- A proposed bill in Wisconsin aims to increase transparency by requiring data centers to report their water and energy use.
While a growing digital economy and use of artificial intelligence has increased the need for physical facilities to store, manage and process data, there is currently little to no regulation in place to mitigate environmental impacts and increase transparency for data processing centers in Wisconsin.
Data centers have drawn criticism from some community members over environmental concerns about sustainability because the facilities require an enormous amount of water and energy to operate. Fewer than one-third track water usage, and, often, data centers sign nondisclosure agreements with local governments on water use.
Midwest states like Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan have become a popular choice for housing data centers due to their close proximity to the Great Lakes, which are seen as an endless freshwater supply.
According to datacentermap.com, Wisconsin is currently home to 46 data processing centers, or data centers, with plans for more. The facilities are concentrated in southeastern Wisconsin, particularly in the Milwaukee area, which, for now, is home to 20 data centers.
Here’s your guide to data centers in Wisconsin.
Does Wisconsin have laws regulating data centers?
Currently, the only mention of data centers in state statute is for tax incentives, however, a newly proposed bill would create rules to fill a “legislative void” by increasing transparency surrounding massive data processing and storage facilities.
In a Nov. 6 memo, bill co-sponsor Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin, D-Whitefish Bay, said the legislation aims to hold data centers and the companies behind them accountable by requiring more transparency around water usage and energy consumption. Additionally, the bill would require increased renewable energy sources across the state, prioritize good-paying, local jobs and insulate ratepayers from the costs of these projects.
While a lot of decisions surrounding data centers originate at the local level of government, Habush Sinykin said in a Nov. 6 press release the state Legislature also “has a responsibility to regulate this emerging industry.”
“The new legislation being proposed today is about making sure that we have clear, statewide guardrails in place that provide people in communities across Wisconsin with the information and transparency they need to engage in the local decision-making process in an informed, effective manner from the start,” Habush Sinykin said.
More: Wisconsin lawmakers propose data center water and energy use transparency bill
What impact do data centers have on the environment?
An August report from the Alliance for the Great Lakes found some data center sites can use between 1 and 5 million gallons of water per day. The average American household uses a few hundred gallons a day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Many Great Lakes states lead the nation in the number of data centers due to the freshwater resources available to them, which are needed to cool hyperscale data centers, some of which can use as much water as a small city.
The report contends that data center owners are not transparent about their water footprint, and there is no requirement for them share that information publicly. Fewer than one-third track water usage, and, often, data centers sign nondisclosure agreements with local governments on water use.
On Sept. 15, Midwest Environmental Advocates filed a legal action, on behalf of the Milwaukee Riverkeeper, against the City of Racine to disclose projected water use at Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant data center.
The move is one of the first of many that will likely become the next phase of controversy over Great Lakes water rights as more tech companies look to the region for its seemingly endless supply of water.
Unsustainable water use can cause cities to sink because the ground becomes more compact. The Alliance for the Great Lakes report notes Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis and Detroit sink more each year. Over time, this threatens drinking water supplies and infrastructure.
More: Will massive water needs of data centers, farms, mines be too much for the Great Lakes?
How much energy do data centers in Wisconsin use?
Demand for energy is increasing in Wisconsin, in part, due to the data centers popping up in the state.
Data centers in southeast Wisconsin account for more than half the 3.3 gigawatts of increased energy demand WEC Energy Group, We Energies’ parent company, expects to experience by 2030, said President and CEO Scott Lauber during an Oct. 30 earnings call.
These include the first phase of Microsoft’s $7.3 billion Mount Pleasant data center project and a $15 billion data center campus in Port Washington, which will power OpenAI and Oracle’s artificial intelligence programs.
While data centers account for a large part of the increased demand for energy in Wisconsin, We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway said demand for energy in Wisconsin is also expected to grow outside of data center projects, which has prompted the company to file a flurry of applications to spend more than $5.5 billion on new energy projects.
The utility filed plans for nine major energy projects with the state Public Service Commission on Oct. 17. If approved, the plants would add nearly three gigawatts of energy to the grid, or enough to power more than two million homes.
Since a majority of the expected energy demand is coming from data centers, under We Energies’ proposal, data center customers would be required to cover 75% of the cost to build and maintain the plant, which would be passed along through energy bills. Other We Energies customers would cover the remaining 25%, as well as the annual cost of natural gas.
Additionally, as part of its rate plan proposal, We Energies would require data center companies to enter a 10-year service agreement that then automatically renews for one-year terms. If a company ends its agreement early, it would have to pay the remaining cost of the infrastructure powering its data centers.
More: We Energies plans $5.5 billion in new energy projects as data center demand grows
Where are Wisconsin’s major data center projects?
Here’s where some of Wisconsin’s major data center projects are happening, as of Nov. 13.
Mount Pleasant Microsoft data center campus
Microsoft is finishing construction on its first Racine County data center, which is to be completed in early 2026. The company says it plans to hire more than 400 employees to work at the first data center and once the second data center opens, the total number of employees will be nearly 800 for both facilities.
Construction for the second data center is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2028. Thousands of construction jobs are planned for the completion of the data center, the company said.
Microsoft just expanded its Racine County data center land holdings with two more purchases totaling around $38 million, according to land deeds posted online by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue on Nov. 10. Microsoft said it now owns 2,005 acres in Mount Pleasant.
More: Microsoft expands Racine County data center holdings. It just spent $38 million on 135 acres
More: Microsoft plans $4 billion expansion of Racine County work for an advanced AI data center
Beaver Dam Meta data center
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, plans to spend more than $1 billion to build a data center in Beaver Dam. The data center campus will span over 700,000 square feet, according to a Nov. 12 Wisconsin Economic Development Corp announcement.
The planned data center would bring roughly 100 jobs to the area and support 1,000 construction trade jobs in the process, the company said. The data center is planning to go online in 2027.
More: Facebook parent Meta to build data center in Beaver Dam; spend ‘more than $1 billion’
QTS development in Dane County
Data center operator QTS is in the process of submitting a zoning application to the DeForest Village Board for its proposed multibillion dollar development in Dane County.
The Virginia-based company wants to develop up to five buildings over time, though those plans could change depending on the village board approval process. The company has purchase agreements for the project site, which are contingent on its rezoning.
If approved, QTS also plans on starting a $50 million fund to support local institutions, which includes scholarships and workforce partnerships with Madison Area Technical College and research partnerships with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
More: Data center operator QTS plans multi-billion dollar development in Dane County
How many data centers are there in Wisconsin?
As of November 2025, Wisconsin is home to 46 data centers, and that number is only growing. Is there a data center in your community? Check out the list below:
Milwaukee area (20 data centers)
- Data Holdings Milwaukee: 3135 W. Highland Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- TierPoint Milwaukee: 3701 W. Burnham St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1547 Critical Systems Realty: 324 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- TSR Solutions: 324 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- New Era Technology-Milwaukee: 10400 W. Innovation Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Aventus Lakes: 7901 W. Clinton Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Cogent Data Center-Milwaukee 1: 324 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Cogent Data Center-Milwaukee 2: 2915 S 5th Court, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Netwurx Milwaukee: 324 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Vaultas Milwaukee: 3135 W. Highland Blvd., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- ISCorp North MQN: 10325 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, Wisconsin
- ISCorp South MQN: 10235 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, Wisconsin
- CyberLynk Network Inc.: 10125 S. 52nd St., Franklin, Wisconsin
- Expedient Franklin: 4777 Ironwood Drive, Franklin, Wisconsin
- Windstream Brookfield: 13935 Bishops Drive, Brookfield, Wisconsin
- Lumen Milwaukee: 3235 Intertech Drive, Brookfield, Wisconsin
- Veolina Data Center: 8450 W. Forest Home Ave., Greenfield, Wisconsin
- Cloverleaf Ozaukee County: Lake Drive/Dixie Drive, Port Washington, Wisconsin
- Airiam Hartland: 1040 Cottonwood Ave., Hartland, Wisconsin
- Mircosoft: Caldonia, Wisconsin*
*Microsoft abandoned its plans to have 244 acres of farm land rezoned for a data center after pushback from residents and local officials. However, it is possible Microsoft will still build a Caledonia data center at a new location in the village or somewhere else in the county.
More: Inside the opposition that led Microsoft to change course on its Caledonia data center plan
Madison area (11 data centers)
- US Signal Madison WI01: 222 W. Washington Ave., Madison, Wisconsin
- US Signal Madison WI02: 5515 Nobel Drive, Madison, Wisconsin
- EdgeConneX Madison: 4916 E. Broadway, Madison, Wisconsin
- Dane County Data Exchange 1: 4916 E. Broadway, Madison, Wisconsin
- Dane County Data Exchange 2: 3351 Dairy Drive, Madison, Wisconsin
- 5NINES Data Center: 222 W. Washington Ave., Madison, Wisconsin
- SupraNet Madison: 8000 Excelsior Drive, Madison, Wisconsin
- HC Colo #1: 612 W. Main St., Madison, Wisconsin
- Lumen Madison: 612 W. Main St., Madison, Wisconsin
- Meta: N8853 County Road A, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
- QTS Wisconsin: Dane County, Wisconsin
Kenosha-Racine area (5 data centers)
- OFFSITE: 3618 7th Ave., Kenosha, Wisconsin
- ExcalTech Kenosha: 3618 8th Ave., Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Microsoft: 12123-12827 Louis Sorenson Road, Sturtevant, Wisconsin
- Microsoft: 12734 Louis Sorenson Road, Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
- Microsoft: County Rd KR and 90th St, Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
Fox River Valley (5 data centers)
- Ark Data Centers Green Bay: Fire Lane 11, Harrison, Wisconsin
- WIN-Green Bay Data Center: 417 Pine St., Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Netsonic Wisconsin Data Center: 1263 Main St., Green Bay, Wisconsin
- HBS Little Chute: 1700 Stephen St., Little Chute, Wisconsin
- New Era Technology-Appleton: 2201 E. Enterprise Ave., Appleton, Wisconsin
Central Wisconsin (3 data centers)
- Wildcard One Data Center: Indianhead Drive, Mosinee, Wisconsin
- Aventus 715: 901 Commerce Drive, Marshfield, Wisconsin
- CyberOne Data: 141 Market Ave., Port Edwards, Wisconsin
Chippewa Valley (2 data centers)
- WIN-Eau Claire Data Center: 800 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Balloonist LLC (unknown company): County Road B, Menomonie, Wisconsin
Francesca Pica, Caitlin Looby, Ricardo Torres and Claudia Levens of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.
