We Energies CEO Says Another Data Center Announcement is Coming

Construction is ongoing on the first phase of Microsoft’s data center project in Mount Pleasant on March 11, 2025. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

The head of the company that owns Wisconsin’s largest utility said it’s discussing the potential for more hyperscale data centers with very large customers.

Scott Lauber, president and CEO of WEC Energy Group, made the comments Tuesday during an earnings call. The company owns Milwaukee-based We Energies, the state’s largest electric and natural gas utility.

Lauber said he’s optimistic about new projects in Wisconsin now that the Public Service Commission has approved special rates for very large customers in response to data center development.

“We hopefully will have another announcement to make” this fall, Lauber said.

Utility regulators recently rejected a We Energies’ proposal where customers would have shared some costs tied to powering data centers. Instead, tech companies or developers would be expected to pay all costs tied to power plants and transmission lines being built to serve their data centers. A final order on the decision is expected in the coming weeks.

Even without new large customers, the company is planning for a 3.9 gigawatt increase in demand over the next five years due to Microsoft’s $20 billion investment in data centers in Mount Pleasant and the $15 billion data center campus being built by Vantage Data Centers in Port Washington. A Clean Wisconsin analysis has found that’s enough energy to power 4.3 million homes, which is more than all the housing units in Wisconsin.

Lauber said the companies have the potential to double energy demand at those sites by adding another four or five gigawatts worth of capacity through additional development.

“We see tremendous growth on already the available sites that we have in the works, and construction is starting on a good portion of them,” Lauber said.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced last month on X that it was bringing its Fairwater data center in Mount Pleasant online ahead of schedule. The company has begun startup and limited operations at its first facility in recent weeks as it moves to become fully operational.

With growth in data centers, environmental groups worry We Energies will increasingly rely on fossil fuel plants to meet surging energy demand, said Cassie Steiner, senior campaign coordinator for Sierra Club Wisconsin.

“The fossil fuel expansion that we could see from this energy demand growth would mean tragedy for the climate and have huge negative impacts on health and our ability to meet climate goals and air pollution standards,” Steiner said.

Gov. Tony Evers and WEC Energy Group have both set goals to go carbon neutral by 2050. But the company has paused its near-term carbon reduction goals amid tightened energy supply. Lauber also noted a recent decision to delay retirement of coal units at Oak Creek to provide reliable and affordable power for customers, which environmental groups have criticized.

The company also mentioned Tuesday that it’s planning to replace power it purchases from the state’s only operating nuclear power plant with gas-fired units due to high energy prices. Its current power purchase agreements with the Point Beach plant extend through 2030 and 2033.

As energy demand surges, Lauber said WEC Energy Group is dedicating a “good portion” of its planned $37.5 billion of investments to very large customers over the next five years. The plan includes spending $12.6 billion on renewable energy and $7.4 billion in gas-fired power plants and natural gas storage. By the end of 2030, the company expects 15 percent of its assets will provide power to very large customers that include data centers.

We Energies is asking utility regulators to approve a $5.5 billion plan to add almost 3 gigawatts of power to the electric grid. The proposal includes building or purchasing seven solar projects, as well as two new gas-fired power plants. Those plants are in addition to two natural gas plants approved in Milwaukee and Kenosha counties last year as part of a $2 billion plan to provide reliable power.

“I hope that (WEC Energy Group) and local governments are vetting potential data center customers and other large load customers really thoughtfully,” Steiner said. “I also hope that we get some guardrails from the impacts of those at the state level and local level for communities near these projects.”

Wisconsin utility company executive says more data centers could be on the horizon was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.