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Wisconsin Residents Rally Against Data Center Construction
· Confirmed
In Short: Hundreds of residents in western Wisconsin attended an event in Eau Claire on Saturday to learn about organizing against the construction of data centers, according to the Hudson Star Observer.
Hundreds of residents in western Wisconsin attended an event in Eau Claire on Saturday to learn about organizing against the construction of data centers, according to the Hudson Star Observer. The Hudson Star Observer also reported that Shannon Zimmerman, who represents Assembly District 30, co-authored a bill creating a sales-tax exemption for companies building data centers, which GROWW estimates will provide more than $2 billion in tax relief.
NPR visited the site of the future Port Washington data center, called Project Lighthouse, and spoke with residents who are leading a crusade against it. NPR noted that supporters argue data centers will keep the United States competitive and could bring great wealth to places where they're built, but opponents are concerned about the environmental and economic impacts.
The Wisconsin Examiner reported that attendees at a February 12 protest called for a pause on data center construction in Wisconsin. A group of Democratic state lawmakers announced a proposal to put a moratorium on data center construction, defining a facility with at least 5,000 servers, occupying at least 10,000 square feet, or having an electricity demand of at least 100 megawatts as a hyperscale data center.
Both the Hudson Star Observer and NPR highlighted the upcoming rally in River Falls on March 23 at 6 p.m., titled 'No Blank Checks for Big Tech,' where residents will gather to call for an end to Wisconsin’s sales-tax exemption for hyperscale data center companies. The Hudson Star Observer noted that Menomonie residents have organized over the past year in response to a secretive $1.6 billion data center proposal.
The Wisconsin Examiner and Wisconsinexaminer reported that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and a group of environmental organizations announced a settlement agreement requiring stricter environmental impact assessments for future data center developments. The Public Service Commission found that the Port Washington data center and others being built by Microsoft and Meta are set to increase statewide energy demand by 40% over the next six years.
The Hudson Star Observer and Wisconsin Examiner both reported that residents are concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability in data center construction. The Hudson Star Observer noted that the exemption will give companies more than $2 billion in tax relief without guaranteeing transparency, while the Wisconsin Examiner highlighted the need for a fair and comprehensive framework that protects ratepayers, workers, and local communities.
NPR and the Wisconsin Examiner both reported that Project Lighthouse has led to angry protests, multiple lawsuits, and arrests for civil disobedience. NPR noted that even supporters of the project have questions about its impact, while the Wisconsin Examiner reported that the Sierra Club and Midwest Environmental Advocates sued the DNR over the environmental review of the data center.
Residents are calling for a moratorium on data center construction until all questions are answered. The Hudson Star Observer noted that residents from across western Wisconsin will gather at Veterans Park in River Falls for the rally, while the Wisconsin Examiner reported that the proposal would pause data center construction until clear rules, accountability, and public oversight are established.
Both the Hudson Star Observer and Wisconsin Examiner reported that residents are concerned about the environmental and economic impacts of data centers. The Hudson Star Observer noted that residents are organizing against data center construction, while the Wisconsin Examiner reported that the settlement agreement will require stricter environmental impact assessments and initiate a statewide review of data center resource use.
Residents are calling for a moratorium on data center construction. The Hudson Star Observer noted that residents are concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability, while the Wisconsin Examiner reported that the proposal would pause data center construction until clear rules, accountability, and public oversight are established.
Residents are concerned about the environmental and economic impacts of data centers. The Hudson Star Observer noted that residents are organizing against data center construction, while the Wisconsin Examiner reported that the settlement agreement will require stricter environmental impact assessments and initiate a statewide review of data center resource use.
Residents are calling for a moratorium on data center construction. The Hudson Star Observer noted that residents are concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability, while the Wisconsin Examiner reported that the proposal would pause data center construction until clear rules, accountability, and public oversight are established.
What's confirmed
- Attendees at a Feb. 12 protest called for a pause on data center construction in Wisconsin. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner) A group of Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday announced a proposal to put a moratorium on data center construction in Wisconsin as communities across the state grapple with local resistance to the development of hyperscale AI data centers.
What's still developing
- It's a local story that's also playing out nationally, as artificial intelligence companies race to build data centers to power their AI models – and people increasingly protest their construction.
- But there are still many questions about Project Lighthouse, being built by Vantage Data Centers in partnership with Oracle and OpenAI – questions that even its strongest proponents aren't able to answer.
- "Honestly, if you did your diligence, I don't understand why a community like ours, who grew up [with] an industrial base, would fight the fact that we would need this back again," Neitzke said.
- "You should not have residents living anywhere near it. There has to be guardrails."
- "There should be a buffer zone around data centers, and it should be within at least a mile of a data center," she told NPR.
- “The intent is not to permanently prohibit data centers, but to ensure that any future development is responsible, transparent, and does not impose additional financial burdens on Wisconsin households,” a co-sponsorship memo on the proposal states.
- With just days left before the Legislature ends its work for the session next week, a group of Democratic lawmakers rolled out a proposal that would pause data center construction until “all of the questions that you have, that you have been asking your local mayors, you have been asking your local legislators, you have been asking these data centers, that all of those are actually answered,” Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said at a press conference Thursday afternoon with local data center activists.
- Several pieces of legislation to regulate data center construction have already been proposed in the Legislature.
- “This is about community power and returning community control to folks all across the state,” Hong said.
- “What started as a lawsuit over the environmental review of one data center has become an opportunity to address the data center issue on a much bigger scale,” MEA attorney Michael Greif said.
- Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence.