Microsoft doesn’t expect its data centers will trigger review under Great Lakes Compact
Microsoft asserts its data centers in the Great Lakes region, including a $20 billion investment in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, will not reach water usage thresholds that would trigger a regional review under the Great Lakes Compact. The company plans to utilize more water-efficient closed-loop cooling systems. Environmental groups, however, continue to raise concerns about overall water and electricity demands from data centers, as well as a lack of transparency.
Jonathan Noble, Microsoft's senior director of infrastructure government affairs, stated that the company's data centers in the Great Lakes region, including a substantial $20 billion investment in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, and new campuses in Michigan and Indiana, are not expected to trigger a regional review under the Great Lakes Compact. This agreement largely prohibits water diversions outside the Great Lakes basin and requires notification for projects exceeding a withdrawal threshold of 5 million gallons daily over a 90-day period. Microsoft anticipates its projects will primarily use water-efficient closed-loop cooling systems.
Adam Freihoefer, water use section manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), confirmed that while current data center water volumes haven't met these high thresholds, the substantial electricity demand could indirectly impact water use by necessitating increased reliance on grid peaking plants. We Energies is expanding the grid with 3 gigawatts of power, including gas-fired plants, to meet data center demand.
Environmental advocates, such as Helena Volzer from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, expressed ongoing concerns about the broader environmental impact, particularly regarding electricity-related water consumption at power plants and the lack of mandatory water use reporting requirements for data centers themselves. She noted that while Microsoft has ended non-disclosure agreements with local governments, companies are not legally obligated to report their water use. The city of Racine previously faced a lawsuit from an environmental group to obtain Microsoft's water use projections, which indicated up to 8.4 million gallons annually at full buildout for its Mount Pleasant facilities.
Peter Johnson, deputy director of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, indicated that recent assessments show no substantial impacts from water withdrawals on Lake Michigan but emphasized continued monitoring.