Mount Pleasant’s village board has unanimously approved the site plans for Microsoft’s expansion of its sprawling data center development in Racine County.
There was little pushback from the community before the board’s decision on Monday night, a far cry from other proposed data center developments across the state.
The tech giant plans to build 15 additional data centers in Mount Pleasant as part of two new campuses worth more than $13 billion. The expansion comes as the tech giant is already investing more than $7 billion at two other data center campuses in the village.
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The board’s vote came after the village’s plan commission unanimously recommended approval of the site plans for the expansion last week. To move forward, the company has to meet multiple village conditions — including traffic impact studies, outdoor lighting plans and landscaping plans — at the two sites.
Microsoft must also comply with all local and state rules, “regarding consuming and returning water to the applicable utility systems and watersheds,” according to a village document. Both developments are on land the company purchased in 2024, according to a Microsoft spokesperson.
During public comment Monday night, Tony Martino, a Mount Pleasant resident who lives around 5 miles from the development, said he’s worried the size of Microsoft’s project will overwhelm the village of around 27,000.
“You (Microsoft) are single handedly changing the very fabric of Mount Pleasant, and we, the residents, have had enough,” Martino said.
Martino asked the village board to do what the Madison City Council recently did and place a moratorium on new data center developments in the village. After the meeting, he said he’s worried about the noise the data centers could create once they’re operational.
“When you add this industrial noise that’s just going to drone on and on, at what level will that be and how will they control that?” Martino said.
Alyssa Poniatowski, a Racine resident who lives a few miles from the sites, said she’s concerned about her energy bill increasing because of the projects.
“I hope that the decision to approve these plans is not taken lightly and is with more in mind than just the potential revenue to Mount Pleasant,” Poniatowski said.
Dozens of members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 also came to the meeting in support of the project.
“This expansion will create good jobs for men and women that will … transform to good union careers, not just jobs,” said Michael Ervin, organizing director of the Operating Engineers Local 139.
Racine County Executive Ralph Malicki, who has already voiced support for the expansion, said he believes Microsoft will be a “great corporate resident.”
“What we’re looking at here is a generational and regional opportunity like we’ve never seen before, not just talking about the taxes or the union jobs,” Malicki said. “What we’re talking about is Microsoft — a very, very reputable company — is looking to partner with our entire area with their opportunities.”
According to village documents, the company plans to build nine data centers at a campus on Durand Avenue on a 791-acre parcel. The company also submitted plans for six data centers at a campus on International Drive. That development would span around 530 acres.
The first Microsoft data center campus in Mount Pleasant is set to be operational sometime this year.
After Monday’s meeting, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company is “excited to have completed the next step in our development process and look forward to sharing more about our specific expansion plans in Mount Pleasant as we go forward.”
In an email, Microsoft’s spokesperson said together the Mount Pleasant campuses are expected to use up to 8.4 million gallons of water every year. The spokesperson also said the company expects the campuses to use around 2 gigawatts of power once “fully developed.”
“We’ve been working with WE Energies and ATC to supply that power,” the spokesperson wrote.
A recent report from the nonprofit advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists found the energy demand for new data center developments in the state could lead to between $113 billion and $130 billion in total electricity system costs for Wisconsin by 2050.
Microsoft’s expansion in Mount Pleasant comes as other data center proposals in Wisconsin have been met with fierce criticism from community members, as residents have voiced concerns about the energy and water demands. Two weeks ago, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and vice chair, announced a new plan from the company titled “Community-First AI Infrastructure,” which seeks to address some of those concerns.
Microsoft recently scrapped plans to build a data center on 244 acres in Caledonia, citing community feedback. That decision came after dozens of residents spoke out against the plans at village meetings.
Microsoft has also purchased around 240 acres for a data campus in Kenosha. Smith recently said the company is still “working on our plans” for that development, even as residents there have already voiced opposition to the project.
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