How data centers became a bipartisan political issue in Wisconsin
Data centers are a big issue across the country. As midterms approach, many look to the swing state of Wisconsin for lessons for how that issue could play out nationally.
SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
In the center of the world...
PFEIFFER: ...That's where all sorts of Wisconsinites told me we were yesterday as they watched the Brewers win game one of the World Series. One of those people was Kristi Draver (ph).
KRISTI DRAVER: Everybody knows it. Driving around Milwaukee, driving in from out of Milwaukee - everybody knows this is it, the center of the world, right here in Milwaukee.
PFEIFFER: And I'm in Milwaukee today, hosting this program from NPR member station WUWM. Wisconsin, along with its Brewers fame, is known for its pivotal role in U.S. politics because of its rust belt geography and its urban rural divides. The midterms are 10 days from now, and Wisconsin is front and center on a contentious national issue, data centers. Many voters on the left and right dislike them, and midterm candidates are having to adapt.
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TOM TIFFANY: I have been consistent over the last year that we are not going to pay those subsidies to these companies. He just came around in the last week when he figured out, that's where the public is. I will not put my finger to the wind when making decisions like...
PFEIFFER: That was the Republican contender for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany in this week's gubernatorial debate here. Just last week, the city of Milwaukee enacted a one-year moratorium on new data center construction. WUWM's Eddie Morales has been covering this, and he's with me in his station's studios right here in Milwaukee. Hi, Eddie.
EDDIE MORALES, BYLINE: Hi, Sacha.
PFEIFFER: What prompted this moratorium?
MORALES: So there was a proposal to turn a vacant Walmart into a data center, and local community organizers - they rallied to stop that developer. Then residents mobilized in favor of a moratorium, with dozens coming to speak at city meetings. It's just one of several cities in Wisconsin to actually pause new data center construction. There are more than 50 different kinds of data centers already in Wisconsin, and the businesses who want to develop more say their projects will help stimulate the economy.
PFEIFFER: This is definitely not the first time there's been backlash in Wisconsin to big tech companies coming in. Some of our listeners might remember the name Foxconn. Tell us about that history.
MORALES: Yeah, so part of the reason why the anti-tech sentiment has been so quick and so strong here is because of that Foxconn deal. It was during President Trump's first term when he championed a massive project by the tech manufacturer Foxconn. The deal was supposed to bring more than 10,000 jobs to Wisconsin, and the state offered this substantial incentives package. But the company then dramatically shifted their plans. There was this public outcry, and it became a political mess for the governor's office, and it created this legacy of mistrust for Big Tech in Wisconsin.
PFEIFFER: And, Eddie, as you know, the data center issue has even reached the governor's race. I've heard this week this ad with one candidate calling the other Data Center Dave - not a compliment. What's going on there?
MORALES: Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany have accused each other of being too supportive of the data center industry, as we heard in that clip in your intro. Now, both candidates are trying to position each other as flip-floppers.
PFEIFFER: There are different kinds of data centers. The new ones are the big hyper-scale ones people are concerned about, but I understand you've been on a tour of a different, more traditional one. What did you see?
MORALES: Right, it was Potawatomi's Data Holdings. So that's on land that's owned by the Potawatomi tribe. And the building is really interesting. It has this design of a brick facade and fake windows that match the neighborhood's aesthetic. It's a 46,000-square-foot data center. It's small compared to the much bigger sites that are being built around the country for AI processing and that have been a little bit more in the public eye. The manager, Ryan Brooks - he took me on a tour, and while we were there, he told me that he's actually for the moratorium.
PFEIFFER: The manager? - the management told you they're for the moratorium.
MORALES: Mm-hmm. Well, he strongly supports data center regulations because he doesn't want more of the huge - what they call - hyperscale AI data centers versus his smaller data center, which has been operating for years. He's kind of worried about his business.
RYAN BROOKS: The number of these large hyperscalers that are coming into town, the amount of power that they require - or coming into the state, even - the amount of power that they require is more than is planned by all the energy providers in your state. So someone's not going to make it.
MORALES: So he thinks some of the other companies building the huge new sites don't have the community in mind, and he says his company is built on tribal land, so it's there to stay. But of course, his company does have its own incentives to take a position in this moment.
PFEIFFER: Eddie, for communities who have been going through this, what have they learned? Any lessons here?
MORALES: Well, Milwaukee, like in many places - it doesn't have the regulatory structures and the zoning laws in place to really manage the goals of huge new - of these huge companies who really want things done fast. And data centers, they can provide a lot of jobs, mostly construction jobs needed to build them, but then often it's just a very small number of jobs to maintain them. So different communities can offer a range of incentives to keep generating revenue like property taxes.
But these centers can also create a lot of strain on a municipality's resources, and the public has been worried about issues like energy and water use. But now, I should say that in some places, like Potawatomi's Data Holdings, where I went with Ryan Brooks - they operate with zero water usage, and it has on-site solar, but it's not a hyperscale site.
PFEIFFER: The data center opponents in Wisconsin - have they had much success?
MORALES: Well, the public outcry here has quickly turned into action, and grassroots action has yielded petitions, social media work, organizing local referendums and pressure on local officials to be more transparent, which is a lesson. It's a lack of initial transparency and public input that contributed to the backlash and propelled the Big-Tech-versus-small-town narrative that took hold here so quickly. But it is important to note that a moratorium is on its - is really a way to slow it down but not stop it.
PFEIFFER: That is Eddie Morales with WUWM. Thanks, Eddie.
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