Wisconsin
DataCentersExposed tracks 38 AI data centers in Wisconsin — 1 operating and 12 in the pipeline — across 13 counties, drawing 3.1 GW of reported power demand from 6 tracked corporate operators. Wisconsin's data-center tax break is projected to cost the state $40M in forgone revenue in FY2024.
Sources: Methodology, Coverage scorecard
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated May 29, 2026
Wisconsin at a glance
The largest footprint in Wisconsin belongs to Microsoft Corporation, behind 3 tracked facilities. Meta Platforms, Inc., Vantage Data Centers Holdings, LLC, and Expedient, LLC round out the most active operators in the state. Many of these sites are filed under shell or project names rather than the parent's — our operator column resolves them back to the real corporate parent wherever the chain is documented.
Geographically, the buildout clusters: Milwaukee County leads Wisconsin with 4 facilities and a composite risk score of 7/100. Dunn County and Dane County follow. Our county risk score weights project exposure (40%), power demand (30%), water draw (15%), and land footprint (15%); the full breakdown is shown on each county page.
Wisconsin is not done growing. 12 facilities are in the pipeline — proposed, permitted, or under construction — which is where residents still have a say at zoning hearings and in rate cases. Each pending project is a decision about land, water, electricity prices, and tax revenue that hasn't been finalized.
We also surface the accountability trail: 8 state bills mentioning data centers and 6 recent news items are tracked for Wisconsin below, pulled from LegiScan and GDELT and refreshed automatically. Legislation is linked to the counties and operators it names; news is classified by community sentiment.
2035 Buildout Outlook
Under the model's moderate-growth scenario (5%/yr annual load growth), PNNL's IM3 model sites about 1 standardized 36 MW campus in Wisconsin by 2035 — roughly 36 MW of new electricity demand and ~35 M gal/yr of cooling water. For scale, we currently track 38 real data centers in Wisconsin (3.1 GW of reported power).
- Higher growth136 MW · ~35 M gal/yr cooling water
The model assigns ~100% of these campuses' cooling to evaporative water cooling in Wisconsin (the rest to mechanical/air cooling), a split it derives from local water stress and wet-bulb temperature.
These are modeled candidate sites, not announced or permitted facilities. PNNL's IM3 model places identical 36 MW unit-campuses at feasible locations under each scenario — it shows where demand could concentrate, never a specific parcel. Figures use a market-gravity weight of 50. How the model works.
Top operators in Wisconsin
The taxpayer price tag
“Qualified Data Centers, s. 77.54(70) $40,000,000 Certain tangible personal property used in the development, construction, renovation or operation of a qualified data center are exempt from sales and use tax. The exemption is only available…”
Program-wide cost of Wisconsin's data-center tax incentive(s), reported by the state — not attributable to a single facility. “Proj” = the state's own forward estimate; all other figures are realized/audited. Each links to its primary source.
Per-deal tax breaks on record
- Qualified Data Center Sales Tax Exemption4×
Specific incentive records we have matched in Wisconsin (state certified-exemption lists, agreements, and disclosures) — most have no public per-site dollar value, so a count is shown rather than an invented figure.
County risk leaderboard
| County | Facilities | Pipeline | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Dunn County | 2 | — | 4 |
| Dane County | 2 | — | 4 |
| Walworth County | 1 | — | 4 |
| Waukesha County | 1 | — | 4 |
| Marquette County | 1 | — | 4 |
| Calumet County | 1 | — | 4 |
| Rock County | 4 | 4 | — |
| Ozaukee County | 3 | 3 | — |
| Dodge County | 2 | 2 | — |
| Racine County | 2 | 1 | — |
| Wood County | 1 | — | — |
Pipeline & proposals
- Proposed25 MWJanesville Data CenterOperator unknown · Rock County
- ProposedData centerOperator unknown · Milwaukee County
- ProposedEdge Data CenterOperator unknown · Dodge County
- ProposedFredonia Data CenterOperator unknown · Ozaukee County
- ProposedKenosha Microsoft Data CenterMicrosoft Corporation · Kenosha County
- ProposedMeta Data CenterMeta Platforms, Inc. · Rock County