MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin released the following statement regarding the need for a statewide strategy to address data center development in the state:
Wisconsin needs a statewide plan and decisive action from state leaders to manage the rapid expansion of large-scale data centers — now.
As the legislative session concluded without further action on any data center bill, one thing is clear: the need for a thoughtful, statewide strategy to regulate unprecedented data center development still remains.
In February, our Coalition of more than 50 organizations released a comprehensive Data Center Accountability Framework, providing policymakers with a clear roadmap to be proactive, rather than reactive. The framework calls on state leaders to pause consideration of new data center proposals until a comprehensive strategy is adopted. This is the only public, comprehensive proposal that addresses the challenges data centers pose to our utility bills, health, communities and climate.
Wisconsinites deserve a transparent approach to data center development that protects our state’s public health, affordability and clean energy goals. Our Data Center Accountability Framework provides policymakers with the opportunity for Wisconsin to get ahead of data center development and protect families, small businesses and neighborhoods. Now, it’s time for state leaders to adopt this comprehensive strategy.
