Microsoft wins approval for 15 data centers at Wisconsin Foxconn site

Local authorities signed Microsoft’s It plans to build 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, near the existing facility the tech company is expanding.

The additional data center capacity will allow Microsoft to recognize revenue from OpenAI and other clients. Amazon, Google And Seer is competing with Microsoft to build data centers full of Nvidia chips that can train and run productive AI models.

Finding space for these facilities can be difficult because utilities do not always have the necessary energy. And people living near potential data center sites are increasingly launching opposition campaigns.

Mount Pleasant homeowners and officials have generally welcomed Microsoft’s expansion into the village.

In 2017, device maker Foxconn announced plans to build a $10 billion facility that would create 13,000 jobs, an initiative touted by President Donald Trump. The village bought land and made room. State tax dollars were spent on infrastructure improvements. But Foxconn didn’t exactly follow through. By 2023, the company employed 1,000 people statewide and the village was over $250 million in debt.

In the adjacent village of Caledonia, many residents opposed Microsoft’s request to reallocate land for the data center, and the company decided to stop pursuing that location in September.

The new work in Mount Pleasant is split into two pieces just northwest of Microsoft’s existing facility. Microsoft purchased the land for the larger of the two lots from the village and private owners in 2023 and 2024. The two sets of plans call for almost 9 million square feet of construction space, along with three proposed substations, according to documents available in the village.

The total taxable value of the proposed projects exceeds $13 billion, according to the documents.

Mount Pleasant’s village board unanimously approved two sets of plans Monday. During a public comment period, six people expressed support for Microsoft’s plans and three expressed concerns.

One rival said jobs working in data centers would not be permanent. David DeGroot, president of Mount Pleasant’s village board, disputed that characterization.

“I call this out to every union member here,” DeGroot said. “When I hear from someone that these jobs are temporary, I would be offended if I were you, because my understanding is that you’re going to be on these sites for the next 10 years, doing your jobs, plying your trade, and I don’t see anything temporary in 10 years.”

The village planning commission on Wednesday approved the site plans, which also take into account changes suggested by staff. Samuel Schultz, Mount Pleasant’s community development director, told the planning commission that the 15 new data centers would require no more water than the 8.4 million gallons it is expected to receive annually from the nearby city of Racine.

Microsoft can now submit final civil engineering plans and file construction permits.

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