PRIORITY CAMPAIGN
Powering accountability: Safeguarding Wisconsin in the data center boom
The problem
You’ve read about it. You’ve seen it in the news. Massive data centers are springing up across Wisconsin to power AI, cloud computing, and social media. But behind every screen and prompt are enormous hidden costs to our wallets, our health, and our environment.
These data centers demand staggering amounts of electricity and water. Utilities are using them as an excuse to invest in more fossil fuels that benefit their bottom line, but those fossil fuels are harming our health.
What does a data center actually look like inside? In this video, Anton Kapela walks us through a small facility in Madison. He explains how even modest centers require massive amounts of energy, and how the much larger facilities being proposed across our state could consume as much power as entire cities.
The cost to Wisconsin families
Wisconsin households already face energy bills rising twice as fast as inflation. Data centers – often backed by secretive contracts with utilities – are driving costs even higher.
In 2025 alone, utilities across the country requested $29 billion in rate hikes. Tech giants and utilities are pocketing record profits while hardworking families struggle to keep the lights on. That’s not fair and it’s not sustainable.
The growing burden on ratepayers
Utility companies are building new fossil fuel power plants to meet skyrocketing energy demand from data centers. These decisions don’t just harm the environment, they hit Wisconsin ratepayers directly in the wallet.
Instead of making billion and trillion dollar corporations pay for their own infrastructure needs, utilities are passing those costs on to the rest of us. While CEOs and shareholders enjoy record profits and mind-boggling salaries, Wisconsin families face some of the highest rate increases in decades.
That’s why we’re calling for accountability – so that Wisconsin residents aren’t subsidizing Big Tech’s expansion. So that our money stays in our bank accounts, and so we can pay our weekly bills, not for some billionaire’s lavish lifestyle.
The strain on our environment
Data centers consume between 1 and 5 million gallons of water a day, the same amount used by a small city. Nationally, they’re expected to withdraw 150 billion gallons of water over the next five years, as much as 4.6 million U.S. households use in that time.
And the energy demands are just as staggering. One proposed facility in Dane County would consume 14.9 billion kilowatt-hours annually. That’s nearly three times more than all of Dane County’s homes combined. To meet that demand, utilities are turning to gas and coal instead of investing in cheaper, cleaner renewable energy.
The health costs we all pay
Communities near fossil fuel plants suffer the consequences. People living near gas plants face 11 to 15 percent higher hospitalization rates for asthma and respiratory illnesses. Burning more fossil fuels to power data centers threatens the health of children and families while worsening climate change.
The time to do this right, is now
Right now, Wisconsin has no rules to ensure data centers pay their fair share. In fact, the only law on the books offers tax breaks with no strings attached – leaving everyday ratepayers to shoulder the costs, both financial and environmental.
That’s why Wisconsin Conservation Voters supports the The Data Center Accountability Act (SB 729 & AB 722), legislation introduced by Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin and Rep. Angela Stroud. The bill ensures fairness, affordability, transparency, and accountability as the data center industry expands.
We’re especially proud this legislation is being led by two of our endorsed lawmakers. Their leadership is exactly why we work to elect conservation champions like them to office – to protect people, our environment, and bring our shared values to the Capitol.
What the bill does
The Data Center Accountability Act (SB 729 & AB 722) would make sure data centers play by fair rules that protect Wisconsin families, workers, and our environment. It would:
- Require renewable energy: data centers must source at least 70 percent of their electricity from renewables to qualify for tax breaks.
- Promote transparency: utilities and data centers must disclose water and energy use.
- Protect workers: those who build data centers must be paid the prevailing wage or higher if covered by a union contract.
- Ensure fairness: data centers would contribute to the Focus on Energy Fund and the Green Innovation Fund, supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and local innovation.
- Protect ratepayers: Data centers should meet the full cost of their own energy needs, and ensure their increased demand on our transmission and state grid infrastructure is accounted and paid for b tech companies, not consumers.
Why it matters
Without these standards, big tech companies can take advantage of Wisconsin’s energy grid, water resources, and communities while reaping huge profits. That’s not fair.
The Data Center Accountability Act (SB 729 & AB 722) restores balance by making sure corporations pay their fair share and Wisconsin families aren’t left footing the bill. It’s about transparency, accountability, and a sustainable energy future.
Join the campaign to defend ourselves from this billionaire blitz
Big Tech and utility corporations shouldn’t profit while Wisconsin families and communities bear the costs.
We’re launching a statewide campaign to ensure lawmakers put our communities ahead of corporate greed. We’re mobilizing members, voters, and local leaders to tell legislators that data centers need to play by rules that protect Wisconsin families, workers, and our environment.
Join us in demanding fairness, transparency, and accountability for data centers.
