By state
Data centers in Wisconsin
9 data centers and projects on our map in Wisconsin, including 3 projects we track in detail. Each one links to its source. Below: where they are by county, the projects in the news, and the latest reporting from both sides.
Latest news from Wisconsin
Supports the case against local October 13, 2026
The Milwaukee Common Council unanimously approved a one year pause on new data center construction and expansion while city staff draft permanent zoning rules. The pause ends early if permanent rules are adopted sooner, and state law allows a six month extension. The business group Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce opposed the pause, saying it discourages investment, while the mayor and sponsoring alderman said it was needed to study noise, energy use, water use and air quality.
Check it: The pause expires in one year or when permanent rules are adopted, whichever is first, so this is not a permanent ban.
Cited by both sides company October 12, 2026
Microsoft filed a revised plan on October 12 that would cut its Mount Pleasant campus from nine buildings to seven while raising total floor area to about 5.88 million square feet. The company told the village the change speeds development, but the filing reduces projected taxable value for the parcel by about 1.9 billion dollars; the plan commission takes it up October 14.
Check it: Compare the revised taxable value with Mount Pleasant's earlier estimates, since changes in assessed value affect how much the village and school district collect.
Supports the case against policy October 9, 2026
A group of four Republican state lawmakers released a co sponsorship memo on October 9 proposing to repeal the sales and use tax exemption for data centers enacted in Wisconsin's 2023 to 2025 budget. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has estimated the exemption has saved developers about $1.5 billion. Democratic leaders called the proposal a stunt because the session calendar leaves little time to act.
Check it: A memo circulating co sponsors is not a filed bill; no committee has scheduled action.
Supports the case for company October 2, 2026
Oracle announced an agreement with We Energies to buy 125 to 250 MW from the Point Beach Nuclear Plant for its $15 billion Lighthouse Campus in Port Washington. Oracle says the deal, which needs Wisconsin Public Service Commission approval, would shift about $300 million in fuel costs from 2027 to 2033 off We Energies customers.
Check it: The $300 million figure is Oracle's own; the deal depends on PSC approval and the final contract terms, which have not been filed.
Supports the case for company October 2, 2026
We Energies and Oracle announced an agreement under which Oracle would subscribe to between 10 and 20 percent of the output of the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, roughly 125 to 250 MW, to help power the 1.3 GW Lighthouse Campus. Oracle said the arrangement could save other We Energies customers about $300 million in fuel costs between 2027 and 2033, pending Wisconsin Public Service Commission approval.
Check it: The $300 million customer savings figure is Oracle's and We Energies' projection; verify against the PSC filing and intervenor testimony.
Supports the case for company October 2, 2026
Oracle told the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin it intends to subscribe directly to 10 to 20 percent of output from the Point Beach nuclear plant to serve a $15 billion AI data center campus being developed with OpenAI and Vantage near Port Washington. Oracle and We Energies say the arrangement would save Wisconsin utility customers roughly $300 million in fuel costs from 2027 through 2033 if the state regulator approves it.
Check it: Check PSC Wisconsin docket filings for the actual contract terms, since the $300 million figure is a company projection; also whether existing customers lose preferred access to Point Beach power if Oracle takes a slice.
Supports the case against local October 1, 2026
The Vilas County Zoning and Planning Committee unanimously approved a 12 month moratorium on data centers, battery energy storage systems and certain large solar projects after a public hearing with no opposition from the public. The ordinance will go to the full Vilas County Board on November 10 and would exempt residential solar and home batteries, with the zoning administrator saying no developer has approached the county.
Check it: A committee vote is not the final adoption; the November 10 county board vote decides whether the moratorium takes effect.
Cited by both sides local September 30, 2026
Madison's planning department unveiled a proposed zoning framework on September 30 that would allow small, medium and large data centers in designated areas, cap individual buildings at 100,000 square feet and require a 1,000 foot separation between larger facilities. The proposal deliberately excludes hyperscale campuses. Public feedback runs through October, with a council vote expected in January 2027.
Check it: The framework is still a draft and the final rules may change before the January vote, and the building size cap would not prevent many smaller colocation facilities.
Supports the case against local September 30, 2026
Manitowoc County on September 30 released a 24 page draft ordinance that defines a data center as 50,000 square feet or larger with at least 1,000 servers, caps facility size at 500 acres and limits conversion of agricultural land to no more than 100 acres per project. Companies would have to submit site plans and documentation of power, water, wastewater and air quality systems. The draft now goes to public review, county board discussion and a likely public hearing.
Check it: The ordinance is a draft that still has to clear a public hearing and county board vote, and the acreage caps would not block most single building hyperscale buildings.
Supports the case against local September 28, 2026
The Milwaukee City Plan Commission unanimously approved a substitute ordinance pausing acceptance and processing of virtually any new data center application for one year, or until the city rewrites its zoning code to define and regulate the use. Supporters cited energy, water, air and noise concerns; the proposal now goes to the Common Council.
Check it: The plan commission recommendation still has to pass the Common Council before it takes effect.