Wisconsin Data Center News

Dec 19, 2025

Wisconsin environmental advocates meet in Milwaukee to discuss data center impacts

Environment advocacy groups from throughout Wisconsin met on Thursday night, Dec. 18, in Milwaukee for a panel discussion about the potential impacts AI data centers could have on the state.

Event details and purpose: Panel held in Milwaukee on Dec. 18 with environment advocacy groups and experts (Clean Wisconsin, Citizens Utility Board, Alliance for Great Lakes) to discuss AI data center impacts on energy, grid costs, and water use; participants emphasized engaging communities and planning before approvals.
Key concerns and statements:Chelsea Chandler (Clean Wisconsin Climate and Air Program Director) warned about energy demand; the panel noted a claim that two AI data centers would use more energy than all of the homes in Wisconsin combined; Tom Content (Citizens Utility Board) raised grid and cost concerns and asked what happens “if the AI bubble bursts”; Joel Brammeier (Alliance for Great Lakes) highlighted water access as a planning priority; local planner Robin Palm said data centers could be net positive if managed properly.

Dec 18, 2025

Calls for US Data Center Freeze Grow as Local Enthusiasm Melts

Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a national moratorium on new data center construction, urging Congress to slow AI expansion and involve more people in decisions about AI’s future.

Main action and scope:Sen. Bernie Sanders publicly advocated a national moratorium on data center construction; more than 200 environmental organizations (via a letter) also called for a moratorium citing impacts on water resources, electricity consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions; Data Center Watch reports $64 billion in data center plans have been blocked or delayed by local activism in the last two years.
Background and additional details: Federal debate is split—Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, and Richard Blumenthal are investigating links between data center power usage and rising consumer bills and have sent letters to major hyperscalers (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, CoreWeave, Digital Realty, Equinix); the Trump administration and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright have pushed for accelerated permitting and less state regulation; a Carnegie Mellon University study projects data center and crypto growth could raise average U.S. electricity costs ~8% by 2030 (with regional spikes, e.g., >25% in Virginia).

Dec 16, 2025

Alliant Energy’s President of Wisconsin utility business, David de Leon, announces retirement; Valcq named successor

Alliant Energy has announced the planned retirement of David de Leon and the appointment of Becky Valcq as President of its Wisconsin energy company.

David de Leon will retire as President of Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin energy company effective July 1, 2026, following 39 years of service across Iowa and Wisconsin; this is part of a planned leadership transition communicated by President and CEO Lisa Barton.
Becky Valcq will become President of the Wisconsin energy company and Vice President of Energy Delivery effective January 5, 2026, after serving as Assistant Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Data Center Services and previously chairing the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and leading the state’s Energy Office, Broadband Office and Office of Energy Innovation; she will oversee Wisconsin operations, customer growth, and economic development efforts across Iowa and Wisconsin.

Dec 11, 2025

Environmentalists Sue for Information About Beaver Dam AI Data Center

Midwest Environmental Advocates has sued the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in Dane County Circuit Court to obtain projected energy-use information for a $1 billion data center under construction in Beaver Dam.

Main action: Midwest Environmental Advocates requested projected energy use from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in October for a $1 billion data center under construction in Beaver Dam; after the PSC declined, the group filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court to compel disclosure.
Background and context: The PSC argued the records “contain trade secrets that Meta is entitled to keep“; in September the same environmental group sued the City of Racine seeking projected water use records for the Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant.

Dec 10, 2025

Environmental group sues to get energy use at Beaver Dam data center

Midwest Environmental Advocates has filed a lawsuit to compel the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to release the projected electrical load/energy demand for Meta’s Beaver Dam data center (records request denied by the PSC citing trade secrets).

Lawsuit and records request: Filed Dec. 9 in Dane County Circuit Court by Midwest Environmental Advocates seeking electrical load projections for two hyperscale sites: Meta’s Beaver Dam (served by Alliant Energy) and Vantage’s Port Washington (served by We Energies); the PSC provided Port Washington data showing We Energies requested interconnection for a 1,300-megawatt facility but withheld Beaver Dam projections as trade secrets.
Project and background details:Meta is slated to spend more than $1 billion on the Beaver Dam campus (over 700,000 sq ft; operational buildings targeting LEED Gold), will underwrite nearly $200 million in energy infrastructure (network upgrades and transmission lines), expects ~100 permanent jobs and ~1,000 construction trade jobs, and the site is expected to go online in 2027; the story notes prior related legal actions (Sept. suit over Microsoft Mount Pleasant water use) and analyses (Clean Wisconsin) showing the two Wisconsin data centers could require more energy than all Wisconsin households combined.

Dec 9, 2025

Microsoft’s commitment to supporting cloud infrastructure demand in the United States

Microsoft has announced major expansions of its Azure cloud and AI datacenter infrastructure across the United States, including a new East US 3 region in Atlanta and new Availability Zones in multiple existing regions.

Infrastructure expansion: Microsoft will launch the East US 3 Azure region in the Greater Atlanta Metro area in early 2027, designed for advanced Azure and AI workloads, with Availability Zones for resiliency and facilities targeting LEED Gold certification and alignment with Microsoft’s carbon, water, waste, and sustainability commitments; additional AZs will be added in North Central US (by end of 2026), West Central US (early 2027), US Gov Arizona (early 2026), and expanded in East US 2 (Virginia) and South Central US (Texas) in 2026.
Government and customer focus: Microsoft will add three Availability Zones to the US Government Arizona region in early 2026 to support zone-redundant, compliant architectures for government and Defense Industrial Base customers, complementing the Azure for US Government Secret region launched earlier in the year; customer examples include the University of Miami using Azure AZs for disaster recovery in a hurricane-prone region and the State of Alaska consolidating infrastructure and improving resiliency by migrating to Azure.

Dec 2, 2025 · RMI

The Five Types of Electro-Industrial States

Rocky Mountain Institute presents a typology classifying US states into five electro-industrial archetypes.

Main announcement/action: RMI authors classify states into five archetypes — Momentum Hubs (Arizona, California), Fast‑Track Builders (Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio, Idaho), Policy Champions (New York, Michigan, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania), Open‑Door Starters (Vermont, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Mississippi, Iowa), and Early‑Stage Starters (Missouri, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Maine, Alabama, Louisiana, Indiana, West Virginia, Montana, Arkansas). The typology is based on policy reliability, regulatory ease, economic capacity, physical infrastructure (power and interconnection), and market momentum.
Background and details: The analysis highlights that market momentum and policy reliability should operate in tandem; low regulatory burdens accelerate short-term investment but may strain local housing and infrastructure without accompanying policy ambition. The authors reference the report GREASE Lightning as a policy playbook for designing investment-led, state-driven electro-industrial strategies.

Nov 12, 2025

Meta announces $1 billion Data Center Investment in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Project

Meta announced a major investment to build an AI-optimized data center campus in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, located in Alliant Energy’s Beaver Dam Commerce Park and expected to come online in 2027.

Project details and commitments: Meta will invest more than $1 billion to build an AI-optimized data center campus spanning over 700,000 square feet with operational buildings targeting LEED Gold; the site is expected online in 2027, will support more than 1,000 skilled trade jobs at peak construction and 100+ operational jobs, and Meta will match the site’s electricity use with 100% clean and renewable energy while underwriting nearly $200 million in energy infrastructure (network upgrades, utility substations, transmission lines).
Background, timelines and environmental actions: Over the next ten years, Meta will donate $15 million to Alliant Energy’s Hometown Care Energy Fund; the facility will use dry cooling (no water demands for cooling when operational) and Meta will restore 100% of water consumed by the Beaver Dam site to local watersheds; the project includes restoration of 570 acres of wetland and prairie (with 175 acres deeded to Ducks Unlimited). The site is in Alliant Energy’s largest certified commerce park, designated a WEDC certified site in 2019.

Nov 6, 2025

Alliant Energy Announces Third Quarter 2025 Results and 2026 Guidance

Alliant Energy announced third-quarter 2025 financial results, narrowed 2025 ongoing EPS guidance, issued 2026 EPS guidance, raised its 2026 dividend target, and increased projected capital expenditures to serve new large data-center demand.

Quarterly results & guidance: Reported GAAP EPS $1.09 and ongoing (non‑GAAP) EPS $1.12 for Q3 2025; narrowed 2025 ongoing EPS guidance to $3.17 - $3.23 and provided 2026 ongoing EPS guidance of $3.36 - $3.46. 2026 annual common dividend target increased to $2.14 per share. Conference call scheduled Nov 7, 2025 at 9 a.m. CT hosted by Lisa Barton and Robert Durian (dial 800-549-8228 or 646-564-2877; webcast at www.alliantenergy.com/investors).
Load, capital and adjustments: Utilities IPL and WPL now have 3 GW of contracted data-center demand including a newly executed 900 MW ESA for QTS Madison; Alliant expects peak energy demand to grow ~50% by 2030. To serve expected load while maintaining reliability, Alliant increased its 2026–2029 forecasted capital expenditures to $13.4 billion and provided detailed annual capex plans (2025–2029 in millions). Non‑GAAP adjustment: $8 million state income tax apportionment charge (equivalent to $0.03 EPS).

Nov 6, 2025

Alliant Energy announces third quarter 2025 results and 2026 guidance

Alliant Energy Corporation announced third quarter 2025 results and provided 2026 guidance.

Main announcement: Alliant Energy narrowed 2025 ongoing earnings guidance to $3.17 - $3.23 per share, announced 2026 earnings guidance of $3.36 - $3.46 per share (a 6.6% increase over 2025), and set a 2026 annual common stock dividend target of $2.14 per share (a 5.4% increase over 2025). The company also increased contracted data center demand to 3 GW (a 50% increase in peak load demand by 2030) and increased its 4-year capital expenditure forecast by 17% to $13.4 billion.
Background and details: Alliant Energy is a regulated energy provider serving approximately 1 million electric and 430,000 natural gas customers across Iowa and Wisconsin through its utilities Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) and Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL). The release includes an investor link to the full news release and media contact information (Iowa phone: (319) 786-4040; Wisconsin phone: (608) 458-4040; email: alliantenergynews@alliantenergy.com).

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