Northern Wisconsin Counties Discuss Data Center Readiness and Potential Impacts

Informational sessions were recently held in Ashland and Bayfield counties, Wisconsin, focusing on the potential impacts of data center development. Karl Green, a community planning specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, led these public and governmental sessions, including presentations to the Ashland and Bayfield county boards.

During an extended public comment period before the Bayfield County Board, several residents expressed opposition to data centers in northern Wisconsin, advocating for a moratorium on their development. Green highlighted that no data center proposals have been submitted for either county, but he stressed that current zoning regulations might be outdated or insufficient to address issues such as safety concerns from large battery storage systems, noise, backup power, property setbacks, and environmental reclamation.

Green emphasized that a moratorium would provide a 12-to-18-month window for counties to study data center impacts and develop suitable regulations, rather than serving as an outright ban. Key concerns raised during his visits included the significant power demands of hyperscale data centers, which require high kilovolt electric service and substantial broadband capacity, and their potential for large-volume water consumption, particularly evaporative cooling processes that could deplete aquifers. He cautioned that concerns from other states like Georgia or Virginia might not directly apply to Wisconsin and that specific proposals are needed to evaluate true impacts.