New Data Center Planned For Caledonia
Caledonia residents say they're worried the campus could impact the rural feel of the community.
A Microsoft data center is situated near a hiking trail Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in West Des Moines, Iowa. Angela Major/WPR
Another data center campus could soon be coming to Wisconsin, this time to a community in Racine County.
The Village of Caledonia Plan Commission is considering rezoning around 240 acres of farmland to allow construction of a data center campus. The site is across the street from the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant.
The name of the company that would own and operate the campus has not been released.
More than a dozen residents spoke out against the plans during a public hearing Monday, raising concerns about the impact of data centers on the environment. Some said they believe a data center campus would change the look and feel of the community.
“This is a country area and we would like to keep it as rural as possible,” Caledonia resident Vanessa Luther said during the meeting.
Tiffany Hammond lives less than a mile from where the campus could be located.
“We moved here because we don’t want to live in an industrial park,” Hammond said during the meeting. “If we wanted to live an industrial park, I’d go live in Pleasant Prairie. But that’s not where we live.”
Valerie Lancelle said she’s lived in the village since 2013.
“These centers consume enormous resources,” Lancelle said.
Lancelle said she views the rezoning to allow for the data center campus as a “fundamental shift in the soul of our village.”
“I urge the (plan) commission to protect Caledonia’s rural legacy and reject this proposal,” she said.
Monday, the Caledonia Plan Commission delayed the rezoning vote so residents and village trustees could learn more about the project. Rich Brittingham, a vice president for Dewberry Engineering Inc. — a Virginia-based engineering firm working on the project — said the company still doesn’t have “a lot of details about our development.”
“There’s so much unknowns about how this will evolve and how the buildings will fit, what kind of technology will be used,” Brittingham, the lead representative for the project, said during the meeting.
Site plans show there would be three buildings and a 15-acre electric substation on the campus. We Energies is the majority owner of the land, according to Brittingham.
Nancy Pierce, a village trustee and member of the plan commission, said she’s on the fence about approving the rezoning.
“I think it’s something we have to pay attention to and listen and evaluate very carefully,” Pierce said,
Pierce said none of the village trustees know who would operate the data center yet. She said she understands the residents’ concerns, but she also wants to learn more about the project.
“We also need to be able to talk about what are the benefits to the village?” Pierce said.
The Village of Caledonia Plan Commission will likely vote on the rezoning and a land use amendment that would be required for the project during an Aug. 25 meeting.
“I truly do appreciate the comments and the opinions of the public,” Brittingham said. “We want to take that back with my team and hear from the plan commission.”
In an email, a spokesperson for Dewberry said the company will “use the next few weeks to review the draft conditions of approval and consider refinements based on public input.”
Beyond the rezoning, Pierce said other future village approvals would be required before any construction could begin.
Proposals for data centers in Wisconsin have been on the rise.
A few miles from Caledonia, Microsoft is building a data center campus in Mount Pleasant. Others are planned in Kenosha County, Beaver Dam and Port Washington.
A Virginia-based developer also recently proposed a data center campus in Dane County. That campus could have as many as 15 buildings. And Janesville is considering a former auto manufacturing site as a potential home for a data center project.
Another data center campus could be coming to Racine County was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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