A Wisconsin Opportunity Worth Getting Right

Hon. Representative Tom Tiffany and Hon. County Executive David Crowley:

One of you will soon have the privilege and responsibility of serving as Wisconsin’s next governor. As you prepare to lead our state, we ask you to consider an opportunity that reaches far beyond any single company, project, community, or election cycle. The decisions Wisconsin makes about data center development will help shape our economy, workforce, communities, and competitiveness for decades.

The Wisconsin Data Center Coalition (WIDCC) brings together manufacturers, energy providers, construction firms, logistics companies, skilled trades, technology companies, and community partners committed to responsible data center growth. Our members pour the concrete, run the conduit, fabricate the steel, engineer the systems, move the freight, build the facilities, and help operate them. This is increasingly a Wisconsin industry, supported by Wisconsin companies and Wisconsin workers.

Five years ago, Wisconsin was rarely part of the national conversation on major data center investment. Today, it is a serious contender. In 2025 alone, at least eight significant projects were approved or proposed, representing nearly $60 billion in combined investment. The impact extends well beyond the fence through construction jobs, supplier contracts, permanent positions, and significant tax revenue supporting schools, roads, emergency services, and community assets.

The opportunity is larger than data centers. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing may be digital, but the infrastructure behind them is extraordinarily physical: power, buildings, steel, concrete, cooling systems, transformers, generators, fiber, water infrastructure, skilled labor, engineering, manufacturing, and transportation. These are things Wisconsin already knows how to do exceptionally well.

We are not asking Wisconsin’s next governor to embrace every project without scrutiny. Energy, water, land use, environmental stewardship, community impact, and ratepayer protection deserve thoughtful consideration. We live and work here too. Responsible growth and economic growth are not opposing ideas. Wisconsin can protect ratepayers and natural resources while attracting investment, creating jobs, and demanding accountability. That balance should be our competitive advantage.

The question is not simply whether Wisconsin should support or oppose data center development. It is how we capture the opportunity while protecting the qualities that make Wisconsin an extraordinary place to live.

Wisconsin has spent generations building things that power America. The next chapter of the American economy is being built now, and Wisconsin should help build it. This is not about chasing the latest technology trend. It is about ensuring that a state with one of America’s greatest manufacturing traditions remains essential to America’s future.

We invite both of you to meet our members, walk their shop floors, and hear directly from the workers, businesses, and communities already participating in this economy. Regardless of who wins in November, our hope is that Wisconsin approaches this opportunity with ambition, responsibility, and confidence.

Wisconsin deserves a seat at the table. Now we must make sure we keep it.

Respectfully,
Tricia Braun, Executive Director
The Wisconsin Data Center Coalition