Data centers are the new buzz for construction and development in Wisconsin as tech companies look to the Great Lakes for abundant, undeveloped land and a steady supply of fresh water. These high-tech facilities, which store and process large amounts of data, are becoming more sought after as artificial intelligence development advances.

Data processing facilities are making up a bigger piece of large-scale construction development across the nation and have already kicked off thousands of construction jobs in southeast Wisconsin. They also promise ancillary development such as housing, commercial space and infrastructure to support direct tech jobs.

The most outstanding project is Microsoft’s $3.3 billion, 1,900-acre data center campus in Mount Pleasant which broke ground last year. The tech giant enlisted Kiewit Corp. and Walsh Construction, along with a string of Wisconsin contractors, to build on farmland previously sold to Taiwan-based Foxconn. The project boasts 2,300 craft laborers on site each day and promises thousands of future long-term tech jobs.

And similar projects are on the way. In Kenosha County, Microsoft purchased another 240 acres to create an addition to its Mount Pleasant center. In Port Washington, Cloverleaf Infrastructure plans a 1,900-acre data center campus with a buildout of five to eight years. Beaver Dam and Wisconsin Rapids also have data centers on the horizon, worth $500 million and $200 million, respectively.

Data centers also use a lot of electricity; the Port Washington project alone is expected to use up to one gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) when complete. Data centers use 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial building, the U.S. Department of Energy reported.

Electrical supply falls into sharper focus as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the electric grid operator for the central U.S., reported a potential power deficit of 2.7 gigawatts, or 2,700 megawatts, across the region next summer. Data centers or not, there could be a 14,000-megawatt deficit by 2030 at the rate power capacity is being added, a MISO survey showed.

After a pause, Microsoft project in Mount Pleasant continues

In December, Microsoft for two months paused some parts of its construction site as it redefined plans for its data processing facility. Both Mount Pleasant and Microsoft officials said they are still committed to the project as investment bankers reported the tech giant cancelled some of its data center projects.

“Microsoft to date has proceeded with construction of its data center development in Mount Pleasant at an unbelievably fast pace,” Mount Pleasant officials said in a statement. “The company is years ahead of schedule in satisfying its financial commitments to the Village under our development agreement,” they added.

The American Transmission Co. submitted plans for a 12-acre electrical substation at 4811 County Highway H, a Mount Pleasant Plan Commission agenda dated Jan. 22 showed. ATC will own and operate the substation through an easement with Microsoft.

“Our plans to spend over $80 billion on infrastructure this fiscal year remain on track, and our $3.3 billion commitment to Wisconsin remains unchanged as we continue to grow at a record pace to meet customer demand,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

Microsoft project putting union construction to work, chipping in for workforce

“These data centers are part of the fabric of the next generation of how we conduct business,” said Dan Bukiewicz, president of the Milwaukee Building and Construction Trads Council, which represents 15,000 people across different trades. “The need for them is only going to grow as technology advances.”
On top of providing construction jobs to build the data centers themselves, construction companies will look into beefing up infrastructure and development around them in coming years.

Bukiewicz said he was confident there were enough tradespeople in Wisconsin to do the work and that registered apprenticeships helped fill the pipeline, however workers from out of state were also driving in to assist with data center work, as well. Both the Milwaukee Building Trades and the Southeastern Wisconsin Building Trades Council will fill staffing where it’s needed, he added.

In its data center announcement, Microsoft said it will partner with organizations such as Gateway Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and United Way Wisconsin to upskill thousands of people in tech jobs and work with hundreds of manufacturers to get an edge on artificial intelligence. The partnership with United Way is expected to upskill more than 100,000 Wisconsinites in generative AI by 2030, officials added.

We Energies investment not just in data centers but also the I-94 corridor

A scramble in Wisconsin has started for both renewable energy resources and natural gas to meet the highly intense energy demands of data centers and future development brought on by large manufacturers.

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