Wisconsin
Wisconsin utility’s data center–driven gas expansion meets skepticism
An anticipated data-center boom is driving utility plans for massive natural gas investments in southeastern Wisconsin, raising objections from customer and climate advocates.
Critics say they’ve seen big development plans fail to pan out before, and they don’t want to be stuck paying for overbuilt fossil-fuel generation based on increasingly uncertain growth projections.
Wisconsin Electric Power Co. (WEPCO) says it needs to build new gas generation to power a planned $3.3 billion Microsoft data center near Mount Pleasant. The project is on the site of the failed Foxconn LCD screen factory, a proposed megaproject that President Donald Trump promised during his first term would become “the eighth wonder of the world” but that never materialized as planned.
“There’s a lot of healthy skepticism because of the Foxconn project never reaching anywhere near the scale that was being touted,” said Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board. “People are asking, ‘Is this real this time?’”
Microsoft has already paused construction on the data center as it reevaluates the scope and how “recent changes in technology” may affect the project. A Chinese artificial-intelligence company in January announced a major breakthrough that it claims allows it to offer AI services with far less computing power, upending global assumptions about the industry’s electricity demand.
Microsoft is also proposing a data center in nearby Kenosha, and a developer called Cloverleaf Infrastructure is proposing one in nearby Port Washington. But the specifics of these data centers and their energy demand are not confirmed, hence critics say the utility hasn’t demonstrated that demand will increase enough to justify the roughly $2 billion in natural gas investments proposed by We Energies (WEPCO’s trade name). Critics also note that an influx of natural gas power seems to contradict Microsoft’s own climate goals of being carbon-negative by 2030.
“We Energies says they want to be ready for other potential customers but has provided no proof of who those customers are or what they want in terms of their energy sourcing,” said Gloria Randall-Hewitt, a resident who spoke at a March 25 hearing held by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. These projects “carry huge price tags in terms of pollution, detrimental health outcomes, and rate increases for customers. They are asking us to just trust them.”
Big bucks for new gas generation
We Energies is looking to build a new five-turbine, 1,100-megawatt gas plant in Oak Creek on the same site as two large coal plants, one of which is closing this year. We Energies also plans to build a 128-MW gas plant in Paris, Wisconsin, 25 miles south of Oak Creek. The utility proposes serving the plants with a new liquefied natural gas storage terminal at the Oak Creek plant site, by Lake Michigan’s shore, and with a new 33-mile pipeline.
The Oak Creek gas plant would go online in 2027 or 2028, the utility says, and cost around $1.3 billion. The Paris plant, made up of seven reciprocating internal combustion engines, could go online next year, at a cost of roughly $300 million. WEPCO needs the storage terminal, which will cost about $520 million, to make sure the plants and residential customers have enough gas, as well as to meet requirements established by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which manages the region’s grid, utility spokesperson Brendan Conway said by email. The new pipeline would cost about $210 million.
The three-member Public Service Commission will decide whether to grant the utility the right to recoup those costs — and a profit — from ratepayers. After overwhelming turnout at the public hearing on Oak Creek, the commission extended the public comment period for the proposed plant through April 7. That was also the deadline for comments on the storage terminal, and the commission completed a comment period for the Paris proposal earlier this winter.
In an April 1 filing before the commission, We Energies said it forecasts 1,800 MW of increased demand in the next five years, and even if only 450 MW of that demand materializes, building the gas plants is the most cost effective way to meet it. Conway said the Oak Creek gas plant would save ratepayers $413 million compared to other alternatives.
But advocates don’t believe that and hope the commission orders the utility to consider other options and do more study.
“We understand there needs to be increased energy production to meet that load, but we want to make sure it’s the most cost-competitive suite of options, not just defaulting back to natural gas as a baseline,” said Emma Heins, principal at Advanced Energy United, an industry association representing transmission, generation, and transportation-related companies.
DODGE COUNTY, Wis. – Gary Day, the man accused of kidnapping a pregnant teen from Beaver Dam, pleaded not guilty in Dodge County court on Tuesday, July 15 to two counts of abduction and two counts of child enticement.
Amber Alert
What we know:
Prosecutors charged 40-year-old Gary Day with abducting the teen, which prompted an Amber Alert in multiple states that lasted for months. Court filings said Day is the father of the teen’s unborn child.
The search for the teen stretched across state lines. She was eventually found at a Nebraska gas station on her 17th birthday in April.
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Prosecutors said Day was already under investigation for crimes against children at the time of the kidnapping. In a court appearance in May, Day’s attorney argued the state did not establish probable cause for charges against him. The judge ruled otherwise.
What’s next:
Day is due back in court for a scheduling conference on Oct. 7.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Dodge County District Attorney’s Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court, as well as prior coverage of the case.
WI bear attack: Why black bears attack humans
Cady Sartini with the Stephens Foundation Wisconsin Black Bear Research Project explained the situations in which black bears often attack humans, after a woman was seriously hurt in a bear attack over the weekend.
COMSTOCK, Wis. (FOX 9) – The victim of the bear attack in Barron County, Wisconsin, is now in stable condition, but the bear involved is still at large.
Wisconsin bear attack victim update
What we know:
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), identified the victim in the bear attack as 69-year-old Karen Frye.
She was attacked outside her rural home near Comstock, Wisconsin, and she was taken to the hospital after suffering severe injuries. Frye is now recovering and in stable condition.
Aggressive behavior by the black bear
What they’re saying:
The DNR says early information shows that the bear involved showed a “sustained series of aggressive behaviors towards the victim.”
Black bears can be defensive when surprised, cornered or to protect their food or cubs, but aggressive behavior is rare, officials said.
The DNR says that aggressive behavior in black bears is a sign they will repeat the behavior, so officials plan to humanely euthanize the bear involved once captured.
“Humane euthanasia is not always the standard practice in human/bear conflicts. Our actions in these types of situations are very carefully determined based upon the totality of the known evidence of each event,” said Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist. “Although we’re still working to piece together every element of what transpired in this incident, we know enough to warrant attempting to livetrap at the location of the incident and humanely euthanize this bear if captured.”
Attempting to capture the bear
Dig deeper:
The DNR has placed several bear traps at the scene to live capture it. The bear and its cub had not been found as of Monday afternoon.
Once the bear is captured, it will be tested for rabies after it is euthanized. If the cub is captured, it will be relocated and released in the wild, as it is old enough to survive on its own in the wild without human intervention, the DNR said.
Any other bears captured will be released unharmed, the DNR said.
Wisconsin bear attack
The backstory:
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the attack was reported around 2 p.m. on Saturday near the town of Comstock, in Barron County.
Several law enforcement agencies, including local DNR wardens and staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) responded to the incident. While searching for the bear, they reportedly found a cub in a tree, indicating the incident could have involved a sow and cub.
The Source: A press release from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
COMSTOCK, Wis. (FOX 9) – A 69-year-old woman was transported to the hospital on Saturday after being attacked by a black bear in Barron County, Wisconsin. While details about the incident are limited, bear experts say black bear attacks are extremely rare.
Questions remain following bear attack
The backstory:
The victim called 911 around 2 p.m. Saturday to report that she had been attacked by a bear. The Barron County Sheriff, along with the Wisconsin DNR and USDA Wildlife Services responded to the scene. Officials say while they were unable to locate the bear, they did find a cub in a tree indicating that the incident involved a sow and a cub.
What bear experts are saying:
Lynn Rogers with the Wildlife Research Institute says in his 57 years working with black bears in northern Minnesota, he’s found bear attacks to be extremely rare. “I’ve done everything possible to cause attacks and I can’t get them to do it,” he said.
Research published by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2021 found that most non-fatal black bear attacks were defensive reactions by female bears with young that often involved a dog and resulted in minor bodily damage.
That same research study said there were only four non-fatal black bear attacks in Wisconsin between 2000 and 2017.
What happened to the bear:
Wildlife officials said they have yet to locate the bear, but have placed traps near where the incident occurred.
In a statement, the Wisconsin DNR said if the animal is captured they plan to euthanize it.
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