Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, research and daily life – powering everything from smart services to advanced analytics. Behind every AI application is a network of data centers, the infrastructure that enables high-speed computing and large-scale data processing.
West Central Wisconsin is emerging as a potential player in this space, with strategic locations and skilled workforce that make the region ideal for data center development and AI computing. As new projects take shape, questions about their economic, environmental and community impacts are increasing. To provide clear, research-based answers, Momentum West and its partners have launched this Data Center Resource Hub.
The resource hub contains educational information and key economic benefits of data centers and how data center development relates to water and energy consumption. This tool is not in advocacy of data center projects, but provided to create a broader understanding for communities and citizens to determine if a proposed project is right for them.
A data center is a physical location that stores computing machines and their related hardware equipment. It contains the computing infrastructure that IT systems require, such as servers, data storage drives, and network equipment. It is the physical facility that stores any company’s digital data.
Every business needs computing equipment to run its web applications, offer services to customers, sell products, or run internal applications for accounts, human resources, and operations management. As the business grows and IT operations increase, the scale and amount of required equipment also increases exponentially. Equipment that is distributed across several branches and locations is hard to maintain. Instead, companies use data centers to bring their devices to a central location and manage it cost effectively. Instead of keeping it on premises, they can also use third-party data centers.
AI vs. Data Centers: What do Data Centers do for society like hosting video streaming services, cloud storage, applications, etc. outside of applications for use with Artificial Intelligence?
Private data center facilities that support a single business or organization
Benefits: An enterprise data center can give better security because you manage risks internally. You can customize the data center to meet your requirements.
Limitations: It is costly to set up your own data center and manage ongoing staffing and running costs. You also need multiple data centers because just one can become a single high-risk point of failure.
A managed service data center is usually located off-site and operated by a Managed Service Provider (MSP). While the maintenance and operational responsibilities are outsourced to the MSP, a single organization may still own the rights to use the facility.
These data centers are designed for predictable usage, making them less scalable than other models. Managed services data centers are ideal for organizations with large-scale computing needs but lacking the internal expertise and resources to independently operate and maintain a facility.
A cloud data center is a collection of distributed facilities designed to provide global cloud-based services. These services are offered on-demand and on a subscription basis, commonly as
Shared space for businesses to outsource their IT operations
Benefits: Colocation facilities reduce ongoing maintenance costs and provide fixed monthly costs to house your hardware. You can also geographically distribute hardware to minimize latency and to be closer to your end users.
Limitations: It can be challenging to source colocation facilities across the globe and in different geographical areas you target. Costs could also add up quickly as you expand.
Purpose-built for massive compute and data storage. Single or multi-tenant data centers that house thousands upon thousands of servers. Hyperscale data centers are the largest players in the industry, operated by technology giants like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. These facilities offer a variety of cloud services with unparalleled scalability.
Smaller data centers built near the people a business serves allowing for near-instantaneous connectivity, data processing and analysis, so that businesses can achieve greater speeds and reduce communication delays.
Portable data centers enabling businesses to plug-and-play all data center components to a location where data capacity is needed. These modules contain IT equipment and the power and cooling to operate as a small, fully functional data center
No. Large energy users such as data centers are required to pay for the electric infrastructure needed to serve their load. This approach ensures that residential and business customers do not subsidize new large‑load growth, and in regulated environments, the additional revenue from these customers can help offset system‑wide costs and reliability.
Utilities conduct detailed system impact studies before connecting large customers to identify required upgrades and ensure safe, reliable service. Service can be delayed until those upgrades are completed if necessary. Long‑term load forecasting, resource planning, and coordination with regulators and developers help ensure that new large loads do not compromise reliability for existing customers.
Data centers operate around the clock, making their energy choices especially impactful. Many utilities offer carbon‑free or renewable energy options for large customers, and data centers often invest directly in clean energy resources. These partnerships can accelerate renewable energy development, reduce emissions, and support broader state or regional clean energy goals.
This concern often comes from experiences in other markets where large industrial growth may have spread infrastructure costs across all customers. In Wisconsin’s regulated utility environment, data centers are required to pay their own way by paying for system upgrades needed to serve them, as determined through utility studies and regulatory tariffs. These customer protections ensure that residential and business customers are not responsible for data‑center‑driven costs.
Older industrial facilities often relied on water‑intensive cooling, creating the perception that large facilities strain local water supplies. Many modern data centers now use air‑cooled or closed‑loop systems that require little to no water for operations. Water use is typically limited to standard building needs, such as restrooms and office space.
This concern stems from comparisons to manufacturing plants or distribution centers with frequent deliveries and shift changes. In reality, once construction is complete, data centers generate minimal daily traffic and operate quietly. Backup generators are used primarily for testing and emergencies and are regulated under local zoning and noise ordinances.
Because data centers do not have storefronts or large workforces, they can appear disconnected from the local economy. However, they provide substantial long‑term property tax revenue that supports schools, public services, and infrastructure. They also attract related technology and construction investment while placing relatively low ongoing demands on local services.
This perception comes from focusing only on permanent job counts rather than total economic impact. While data centers have modest ongoing staffing needs, they support high‑skill, high‑wage technical positions in operations and IT. Development also creates significant construction employment, often involving local and union labor.
Because data centers operate 24/7 and use large amounts of electricity, some assume they increase reliance on fossil fuels. In practice, many data center projects help drive new investments in renewable energy, battery storage, and grid modernization. Their scale often accelerates clean energy development rather than slowing it.
Large projects can feel overwhelming, leading to concerns about loss of local authority. In reality, local governments retain full control over zoning, land use approvals, site plans, and permitting. Data centers must comply with the same local review and regulatory processes as any other development.
Many concerns about data centers are rooted in older industrial models. Modern data centers are designed and regulated to protect utility customers, minimize community impacts, support clean energy goals, and strengthen local tax bases—while preserving full local control.
