Port Washington Data Center Requires $1.4 Billion Transmission Line Project
The route and price tag of the 90-mile line are drawing concern.
![High Voltage Power Lines. Photo by Corey Coyle [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://urbanmilwaukee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ATC_High_Voltage_Power_Lines_-_panoramio.jpg)
High Voltage Power Lines. Photo by Corey Coyle (CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
American Transmission Co. wants to build new transmission lines, rebuild existing lines and build new substations across several counties, according to a recent application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. The project would help meet the energy demand for a data center development in Port Washington.
The application says project is “required to provide adequate and reliable service to the new data center being constructed.”
The four data center buildings are expected to need 1.3 gigawatts of electricity. The developer behind the project is Vantage Data Centers.
“The fact that one line is is costing over a billion dollars is significant and the fact that it’s all being driven by the energy demands of essentially one customer is unprecedented,” Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, said.
Port Washington residents have spoken out against the data center plans during recent public meetings. Even so, the Port Washington Common Council approved the development agreement for the project in August.
This is an aerial rendering of what the planned data center campus in Port Washington could look like. Photo courtesy of the City of Port Washington
The preferred route of the transmission line is just over 90 miles long and would include the construction of new 345-kilovolt lines and new substations. The project spans several counties, including Calumet, Fond du Lac, Ozaukee, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Washington Counties, according to the application.
An alternate route, which would cost an estimated $1.64 billion, is also included in the application. Some residents who live near Port Washington have already spoken out against the plan, as the alternate route would go through Fredonia, a small community near the data center site.
“We are going to stand and not let this happen to this pristine, beautiful countryside,” Patti Plough, a Fredonia resident, said during a recent Port Washington Common Council meeting.
“Many of us treasure the pristine rural character of this part of Ozaukee County,” the group’s website says. “This is what attracted many of us to make this area our home. This will be ruined by miles of ugly tall towers and power lines, with wide paths of surrounding areas clear cut in order to permit their construction. This precious and valuable characteristic of our area will be destroyed. Once lost, this will be lost forever.”
In an email, a spokesperson for the city of Port Washington said Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke has “reached out to We Energies and the American Transmission Company to urge them to consider the needs of community members as they plan potential new routes.”
Tanner Blair, director of policy and legislative affairs for the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, said the commission is reviewing the application now to see if it’s complete.
“Once the PSC (Public Service Commission of Wisconsin) deems the application complete, it then has 180 days in which to take final action on the application, unless the chairperson of the Commission extends the time period for an additional 180 days for good cause,” Blair wrote in an email.
A spokesperson for American Transmission Co. said the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin will ultimately pick the final route if the application is approved.
Content said We Energies customers and customers of other utilities serving eastern Wisconsin would eventually pay for the costs for the project.
“Huge projects like this are paid off over time, but they start to hit your (energy) bills after they go into service,” Content said.
The Port Washington plan commission approved a tax incremental district, or TID, for the data center development on Thursday. The city’s common council is set to vote on that TID on Tuesday.
Editor’s note: The Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin is a sponsor of WPR.
$1.4B transmission line project proposed for Port Washington data center was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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