Wisconsin Data Center Intel

Recent Wisconsin data center news

• Apr 7, 2026

  CO2 battery startup Energy Dome signs MOU to deploy technology at Texas data centre

  Energy Dome has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with New Era Energy & Digital (NUAI) to evaluate deployment of its CO2 Battery Plus at NUAI’s Texas Critical Data Centres (TCDC) in Odessa, Texas.

  • Main announcement: The MOU creates a framework for Energy Dome (headquartered in Italy) and NUAI to evaluate implementing CO2 Battery Plus to support NUAI’s AI-optimised 1GW data centre in Odessa, Texas, with priorities on speed to power, reduced reliance on grid interconnection timelines, high availability for mission-critical operations, and lower-emissions power generation.
  • Background and related projects/details: Energy Dome’s CO2 Battery Plus uses waste heat from OCGT exhaust (removing the need for prior heat storage) and can operate in Charge, Discharge (SuperBoost) and Generation (Boost) modes (SuperBoost can more than double output; Generation can boost net gas turbine output by as much as 25%). Related deployments: 200MWh Sardinia project (financial close 2024, Engie offtake signed in late 2024); Alliant Energy 20MW/200MWh project approved by regulators in July 2025 (construction to begin this year, completion expected by end of 2027). The article also references other LDES and multi-day battery deals including Google’s strategic investment in Energy Dome, Google’s plan for 30GWh of Form Energy iron-air batteries in Minnesota, and Form Energy’s 12GWh supply agreement with Crusoe.
• Apr 4, 2026

  Benji Backer: Nature is Nonpartisan

  Benji Backer has launched Nature is Nonpartisan to create a culturally relevant, nonpartisan conservation movement and to reframe how environmental issues are discussed.

  • Main action: Nature is Nonpartisan has produced media projects (a six-episode YouTube series already filmed) and is launching campaigns including “Going Public” (a public-lands ownership/certificate campaign running until May 30) to mobilize Americans around public lands and conservation. The organization also helped craft an executive order establishing the “Make America Beautiful Again” Conservation Commission and continues policy engagement while positioning the movement as nonpartisan.
  • Background and complementary action: Benji Backer previously founded the American Conservation Coalition (ACC, ~100,000 conservative members referenced) and now aims to broaden outreach beyond a single political constituency. Meanwhile, Energy Right (founder Skyler Zunk, team of five) is doing local clean-energy education in rural Virginia — promoting community solar, agrovoltaics (sheep grazing under panels), and addressing local concerns around land use and permitting, including the need to power growing energy demand from data centers in Northern Virginia.
• Apr 2, 2026

  States Race to Win the Tech Economy in 2026 State of the State Addresses

  Broadband and technology were prioritized across nearly 30 governors’ 2026 State of the State addresses.

  • Main announcement: Governors across the country emphasized broadband expansion, AI policy and workforce development, and data center/energy planning; specific claims include Maine reporting “more than a quarter million homes and businesses” served, Wisconsin reporting 410,000 businesses and households with new or improved internet, Kansas connecting 117,000 households and businesses, and the Virgin Islands reporting a territory-wide internet program with over 50,000 users per month. The addresses also included concrete funding and contract figures: Maryland announced a $4 million AI workforce training investment, and South Dakota cited a $35 million Department of Defense contract for warhead production.
  • Background and other details: Governors described partnerships and policy actions: Maryland cited collaborations with Bloomberg Philanthropies, Microsoft, a South Korean biotech firm, and AstraZeneca for AI work; Iowa cited partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Google Public Sector to modernize state systems; several governors (Indiana, New York, Nebraska) debated who should shoulder data center energy costs or accelerate permitting; some states (New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina) signaled nuclear energy pathways and DOE engagement. Implementation timelines are those stated in addresses (2026) and referenced ongoing programs and contracts (e.g., South Dakota’s $35 million DoD contract already awarded).
• Mar 30, 2026

  No one wanted to redevelop this polluted property. Then came AI.

  Viridian Partners has proposed to buy Janesville’s 250-acre former GM site, remediate contamination, and build an $8 billion, 11-building, 800 MW data center campus.

  • Main announcement:Viridian Partners offers to purchase a 250-acre parcel owned by the city of Janesville, remediate soil contaminated with hydrocarbons, heavy metals and PFAS at an estimated $30 million cleanup cost, and construct an 11-building, 800 MW data center campus with development partner Abbleby Strategy Group; the proposal estimates ~600 permanent jobs and ~13,000 construction jobs, and includes working with Alliant Energy and American Transmission Company to build a new electrical substation.
  • Background and other details: The EPA released guidance (Jan 2026) identifying 335 brownfields potentially suitable for data centers; the article references other large projects such as the $15 billion Stargate data center (OpenAI & Oracle), notes a canceled $20 million EPA community change grant and an ineligible $773 million environmental trust, and documents local energy, emissions, public-health, and political concerns including proposed new natural gas peaking plants, a citizen ballot initiative, and legislative proposals to expand developer access to brownfields funding.
• Mar 29, 2026

  AI's Arrival Complicates Big Tech Climate Goals, and Some Worry it's Locking in More Fossil Fuels

  The Associated Press reports that major tech companies including Google and Microsoft are acknowledging difficulty meeting their 2030 carbon-removal/carbon-neutral goals as rapid AI-driven data-center growth increases electricity demand.

  • Main point: Major tech firms are increasingly relying on natural gas and other fossil-fuel generation to power rapidly expanding AI data centers, putting earlier 2030 emissions/removal targets under strain; examples include two new natural gas plants in Wisconsin for a Microsoft data center, three natural gas plants planned to serve a Meta data center in rural Louisiana, and Google buying power from a natural gas plant at the Archer Daniels Midland facility in Decatur, Illinois with carbon capture and storage. The article reports companies’ emissions rose (Google ~50%, Amazon ~33%, Microsoft >23%, Meta >60%) and that data centers used ~4.6% of U.S. electricity in 2024 and that share could nearly triple by 2028.
  • Background/details: Analysts and groups cited include Wood Mackenzie, Clean Energy Buyers Association, International Energy Agency, Union of Concerned Scientists, World Resources Institute, Rhodium Group, and Uptime Institute; the piece notes natural gas accounted for >40% of electricity powering U.S. data centers in 2024 and coal supplied ~30% globally, that a backlog of grid interconnection approvals and proposed changes to renewable-credit accounting could complicate clean-energy claims, and that federal policy changes (cancellations of grants/permits and the ending of certain tax credits in July) under the Trump administration are affecting renewable deployment.
• Mar 25, 2026

  Welcome Katie, Anna, and Makhai

  Fresh Energy has announced three new staff and fellows to support its mission to equitably and rapidly decarbonize Minnesota.

  • New hires and roles: Fresh Energy welcomed Katie Maxwell as Associate, Electricity, Anna Edmunds as a Humphrey School fellow (University of Minnesota), and Makhai/Mahkai Hunt as the 2026 Capitol Pathways intern; these individuals will contribute to Minnesota-focused clean electricity, legislative engagement, and equity work. Katie earned an M.E.M. from Duke in 2025 and will work on Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs), data centers, and virtual power plants; Anna is pursuing an MPP at the Humphrey School and will track PUC dockets, energy affordability, and energy burden cap legislation; Makhai is a Macalester College junior and will work with Fresh Energy’s Public Affairs team during the 2026 Capitol Pathways internship.
  • Background and implementation details: The announcement references prior experience and institutional partnerships: Katie’s background includes work with Faith in Place, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, and Duke’s Nicholas Institute; Anna previously worked at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and will work alongside Shubha Harris on Minnesota PUC dockets and research including data center impacts on energy and water; Makhai will work with Brynn Kirsling and the ongoing Capitol Pathways program (hosted by Fresh Energy for eight years) to support legislative engagement and representation efforts.
• Mar 18, 2026

  Google data center environmental review process sparks debate in Hermantown community

  Hermantown city officials have announced they are updating the AUAR for the proposed Google data center.

  • Main action: Hermantown is updating the AUAR (alternative urban area-wide review) for the proposed Google data center after the AUAR was approved in October; the city expects the AUAR update to take seven months, will hold two public comment periods, and permitting cannot proceed until environmental review is complete.
  • Background and details: Opponents are calling for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) instead; the Minnesota EQB states that AUAR and EIS provide comparable levels of analysis but differ in use case (EIS for a specific project, AUAR for area-wide scenarios). Hermantown cites the project’s “rapidly evolving technological elements” and a projected 8–10 year construction period as reasons the AUAR’s flexibility and status as a “living-document” are appropriate. The city, as the responsible governmental unit (RGU), has the final decision on the level of environmental review.
• Mar 16, 2026

  Dell Breaks the Latency Barrier in Quantum Computing with NVIDIA

  Dell has announced validated sub-four-microsecond average latency between Dell PowerEdge servers and FPGAs using the NVIDIA NVQLink platform.

  • Main announcement: Dell validated sub-four-microsecond average latency with the NVIDIA NVQLink platform using Dell PowerEdge servers (models: XE9680, XE7745, R7715, R770) as the real-time host (RTH), enabling real-time calibration, dynamic circuits, and quantum error correction. The validation included partner testing with Quantum Machines using an R7615 server connected to its OPX1000 PPU, demonstrating control across three QPUs and two architectures.
  • Additional details & timeline: The deployment integrates with NVIDIA CUDA-Q and RoCE-based connectivity; Dell plans to validate NVQLink across additional Dell offerings and run tests in co-located deployments “over the coming months”, and its servers can also run quantum emulation and machine learning workloads alongside real-time quantum control.
• Mar 13, 2026

  What's data center environmental impact? More fossil fuel pollution.

  The Journal Sentinel asked readers about Wisconsin data centers and reports experts warning that rapid data center growth is slowing grid decarbonization.

  • Main announcement/action: The Journal Sentinel solicited reader questions about Wisconsin data centers (more than 300 responses) and published reporting that includes warnings from Andrew Chien, director of the Center for Unstoppable Computing at the University of Chicago, that the rapid boom of data centers is slowing decarbonization of the power grid. The story is reported by Caitlin Looby and dated March 13, 2026.
  • Background and details: The article notes proponents cite “billions of dollars” in investments into state and local economies and construction jobs; it references a reader question from Sheryl Slocum of West Allis asking about environmental impacts and links to related reporting and documents (including an MKE Region PDF and prior Journal Sentinel coverage).
• Mar 13, 2026

  Illinois to data centers: Bring your own renewables and skip the line

  The Protecting Our Water, Energy, and Ratepayers Act (POWER Act) has been introduced in Illinois to incentivize data centers to build or procure new clean energy by offering fast interconnection and guaranteed access to the amount of clean power they procure.

  • Main action: The bill would give data centers a fast-track grid connection if they submit a clean energy plan that procures 80% of predicted annual demand from new clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2045, and it guarantees uninterrupted access to the amount of clean energy they pay to build or acquire; it also allows utilities to curtail facilities that fail to meet clean-energy thresholds during high-demand periods.
  • Additional details and context: The bill requires data centers to pay for transmission and substation upgrades, contribute to a public benefits and affordability fund (amounts set by peak demand), funds a compensation fund for community groups intervening in regulatory proceedings, mandates quarterly water-use reports and community-benefit agreements, and is supported by the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and groups like Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists; the Illinois legislative session ends in late May and the measure will undergo consensus-building.