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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Data Centers are so unpopular now that it would be difficult to get one approved anywhere in Wisconsin.
We are told that they are polluters, using large amounts of water for cooling and sucking up energy for power. Some places, like Winnebago County would require that a new data center generate enough green power to meet its own needs. That’s a non-starter; an entire property could be covered with windmills and solar panels and it wouldn’t be enough. Many communities want regulations that are so strict that no data-builders would bother trying.
There are no data center proposals in Wausau.
But tomorrow night the Wausau Plan Commission meets to discuss basic rules for data centers.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Some of the broad ideas are that data centers would have to be in areas that are already zoned for industrial use. They’d also require conditional use permits, which means that each proposal would come up for independent review and public comment.
Now I will give you a hypothetical. Suppose a data center, not a mega-center, is proposed for the Wausau Industrial Park. It’s not on the scale of what Google or Microsoft might build. It fits the current zoning. The builders are able to supply the power they need. It’s an area where very few people live. It would cause almost no disruptions to daily life in our area.
Could we get to “yes” on such a project? It would certainly create jobs and benefit our tax base. Or are some people so opposed to data centers that such opportunities would pass us by?
Chris Conley
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