In Wrightstown, Cloverleaf Infrastructure defends AI data centers

Cloverleaf Infrastructure publicly defended its plans for an over 1-gigawatt AI data center in northeastern Wisconsin to a critical audience at a May 26 listening session in Wrightstown. Residents of Wrightstown and Greenleaf expressed widespread distrust and opposition, citing a lack of transparency from village officials regarding discussions with the developer and concerns about potential negative impacts. Village Administrator Travis Coenen of Wrightstown was addressed directly by residents like Sherry Van Rossum, who argued the data center was not the right solution for community revenue despite acknowledging his efforts.

Aaron Bilyeu, Chief Development Officer, and Nur Bernhardt, Vice President of Power and Utilities for Cloverleaf Infrastructure, sought to present the company as an ethical developer. They promised not to seek tax increment financing, addressing concerns about financial benefits raised by former U.S. Bank senior vice president Prescott Balch, who criticized how other Wisconsin data center projects in Beaver Dam and Port Washington were incentivized. Bilyeu also attempted to mitigate environmental worries, stating new cooling systems would not discharge water into the environment and downplaying noise pollution.

Despite these assurances, many of the 21 audience members who spoke remained skeptical, referencing negative outcomes from other data center projects in the state, including issues with contaminated well water and continuous construction. Physician assistant Scott Griep used an analogy to question the company's reliance on "lessons learned" from past failures. The significant public opposition has prompted the Wrightstown Village Board to schedule a special meeting on May 27 to consider a referendum to assess residents' support for a data center, though the board has stopped short of pursuing a moratorium.