Wisconsin’s largest utility received approval from state regulators Thursday to add almost $1.5 billion of new gas-fired generation to supply new data center demand as it shutters existing coal plants.
The three-member Public Service Commission, all appointees of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, voted unanimously to conditionally approve the projects proposed by Milwaukee-based We Energies over opposition from consumer advocates and environmental groups who argued that the utility was overlooking cheaper, cleaner options.
The issue before the PSC highlights a tension across the country. States have established emissions reductions goals, yet face political pressure to attract economic investment, specifically “hyperscaler” data centers like the ones proposed along Wisconsin’s Interstate 94 corridor.
Such is the case in Wisconsin, where Evers during his first term laid out a goal of achieving 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. But the governor sees data centers — and especially a $3.3 billion Microsoft data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, outside Milwaukee — as a huge economic win for the state.
