Rendering done by Vantage Data Centers
Why are data center developers so keen on building in Wisconsin?
The US Data Center Map has tracked 63 data center facilities and projects in Wisconsin, with 43 currently operational, three under construction, eight in the planning stage, three projects are paused, and six are listed as inactive or historical.
The term “data center” is used to describe a centralized physical facility that stores businesses’ critical applications and data.
These can range in size from a single 19-inch server rack all the way up to the China Telecom Data Center, which covers 100.7 million square feet.
Senator Andre Jacque joined Jim Medley on WOMT’s Be My Guest program to speak on the topic.
“I think that there are a lot of concerns about them that are that are well founded,” he admitted. “At a certain point, there are issues with a number of large industries.”
A big issue many have with data centers is the people who are traveling around the state trying to purchase land from farmers.
“They’re pitching them as, ‘Well, this could be an economic boom,’” Sen. Jacque said. “The reality is that they’re not, they’re not paying their own way right now; that economic impact is being somewhat delayed.”
The state is partially responsible for these salesmen making the rounds, as they approved a sales and use tax exemption for data centers, which Sen. Jacque says is currently approaching $2 billion for projects that have been approved.
“On an ongoing basis, we’re looking at, close to, I think, $400 million a year, and that’s not counting all of the other projects that people want to locate.”
He also posed a question which put the whole program into a new perspective.
“Why are we putting an industry on the same footing as schools, churches, other charities?”
This is why Sen. Jacque introduced two pieces of legislation aimed at slowing data center development.
The first, Senate Bill 969, aims to prohibit data center developers from using non-disclosure agreements to hide project details.
Meanwhile, LRB-6903 aims to repeal the sales and use tax exemptions for big tech data centers.
Sen. Jacque has also teamed up with Comedian Charlie Berens to promote the bills throughout the state.
