Wisconsin

Statewide data center construction, fueled by the global artificial intelligence (AI) race, is set to reverse a decade-long decline in electricity use across Wisconsin.

Electricity demand, in decline for years, is expected to increase in the coming years as more electricity-gobbling data centers are built across the state, according to a new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Nationally, data centers use approximately 4% of all the electricity in the U.S., but that could rise to as high as 12% by 2028, according to a study cited in the report.

Data centers house the servers and physical infrastructure needed for digital applications and services. For AI companies, the facilities store the data used to train and run their models, which require huge amounts of computational power. There are currently 40 data centers in Wisconsin, and major tech companies like Microsoft, Oracle and ChatGPT are building new “hyperscale data centers” that measure electricity in gigawatts.

For reference, a gigawatt-hour is equivalent to 1,000 megawatt-hours and is roughly the amount of energy capability added to the grid when a new power plant is brought online, according to the policy forum. The largest data centers in the country currently use one gigawatt a year.

It remains unclear exactly how much electricity demand will rise in the coming years. Data center companies have not offered many details publicly about how much energy their new facilities will require. There is information about data use by existing hyperscale data centers elsewhere in the country, and utilities are already preparing for an increase in demand.