Microsoft is behind the plans for a recently proposed data center development in the village of Caledonia in Racine County.
The project was announced in July but it was unknown at that time who the user of the site would be. Caledonia Village President Thomas Weatherston confirmed to WPR on Wednesday that Microsoft would operate the data center.
If approved by village officials, it would be the company’s third data center project in Racine County. To move forward, the village would need to rezone 244 acres for the project.
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“We’re still early in the game,” Weatherston said. ”It’s just a rezoning request.”
The proposed site of the data center is near the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant. The utility owns the majority of the site.
“As Microsoft continues to invest in Wisconsin, we are in conversation with the Village of Caledonia about a potential future datacenter development,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Microsoft remains early in the years-long planning and development process.”
Residents have been speaking out against the plans during recent public hearings. In July, some residents raised concerns about the impact of data centers on the environment. Some also said they believe the project would change the character of the community.
More than a dozen residents spoke out against the plans during a public hearing Tuesday night after it was announced Microsoft would operate the data center.
“Why did it take so long for this to be told to the public,” Becky Girard asked during the meeting.
Last week, Microsoft announced plans to invest $4 billion for the construction of its second data center in the village of Mount Pleasant. Construction for the first data center in that community is set to be complete next year.
“We already have a huge data center that is being constructed right now in Mount Pleasant and I don’t understand why we need one in Caledonia as well,” Girard added.
Caledonia — a village of about 25,000 — borders Milwaukee County. The Village of Caledonia Plan Commission could vote on the rezoning Monday.
Debby Palmer owns a horse farm next to the proposed site for the project. She’s lived in Caledonia for nearly 20 years and is one of many residents who have placed “no rezone no data center” signs outside of their homes.
“People move out here to be in the country,” Palmer said Wednesday.
She wants village officials to vote against the rezoning.
“Anybody who moved out here, moved out here for a reason, and they probably wouldn’t have if for that,” Palmer said while pointing to the site where the data center would be built.
Microsoft officials offer little details on plans for the site
The rezoning is just the first approval needed before Microsoft can actually break ground on the site.
“We don’t yet know exactly what future customer demand will require us to build here, but we’re fully committed to engaging with the community throughout the process, beginning now,” Diann Strom, community affairs regional manager for Microsoft, said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Hoda Nia, the land development manager for the company, said other local approvals would still be needed if the rezoning is approved.
“The master site planning phase is when we actually need to finalize our design for the data center and obtain all the necessary permits and regulatory compliance required for our center,” Nia said.
Nia said the Caledonia data center would look different than the two data center campuses being built in Mount Pleasant.
“We know it’s going to be very different in feel and look than what we have in Mount Pleasant,” Nia said.
Microsoft’s data center facilities in Mount Pleasant are expected to employ about 900 people once they’re both fully operational. Laura Million, deputy director of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation, said about 50 to 200 people would work at the data center in Caledonia. About 300 to 400 construction workers would also help build the facility, Million said.
“The proposed data center will diversify the village’s tax base and increase property tax revenue to enable the village to maintain service levels for fire and police, make road investments and consider investments in parks and recreation,” Million said.
When it comes to water and energy concerns, Strom shared similar statements made by Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, during his announcement last week. She said the company is paying for a 250 megawatt solar farm in Portage County to address energy needs. She also said water demand for the data center in Caledonia would be “modest” compared to other large industrial water users.
Microsoft’s first data center in Mount Pleasant would use a peak of 234,000 gallons of water per day or 2.8 million gallons per year.
A recent report from Alliance for the Great Lakes found data centers may withdraw as much as 150 billion gallons of water over the next five years in the United States. Last year, Microsoft announced its data centers in Mount Pleasant will use a new closed-loop water system design to help save water.
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