Microsoft in Wisconsin; new $4B investment in Mount Pleasant datacenter

RACINE, Wis. - Microsoft officials, along with local leaders, announced on Wednesday, Sept. 18 that Microsoft is investing an additional $4 billion to further expand its planned data center campus in Mount Pleasant. Officials say the campus will house the world's most powerful supercomputer.

New $4 billion investment

What we know:

Microsoft is in the final phases of building Fairwater, the world’s most powerful AI data center, in Mount Pleasant. Microsoft is on track to complete construction and bring this AI data center online in early 2026, fulfilling their initial $3.3 billion investment pledge.  

"This is where the most advanced AI models are going to be built for the world," said Brad Smith, Microsoft President. "It’s an extraordinary resource for this community and state, but for the country, and for the world, as far as what we believe AI has the potential to do: to solve the problems that need to be solved."

This data center is designed to help AI researchers and engineers build the world’s most advanced models, test ideas faster, and do it all more efficiently. 

Project opponents

What they're saying:

Officials with environmental group Milwaukee Riverkeeper say they are worried. 

"We are increasingly concerned by the proliferation of data centers throughout the region," said Cheryl Nenn of Milwaukee Riverkeeper. "They can use a lot of water and they can use a lot of energy, but there’s a lot of variability."

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In fact, Milwaukee Riverkeeper requested that information from the City of Racine. Racine did not hand it over for months, and so the group sued. The city finally turned it over. 

Water usage

By the numbers:

Public records show Microsoft will use 2.8 million gallons of Lake Michigan water per year. That is equivalent to about four Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

For comparison, Milwaukee's Deep Tunnel can hold 432 million gallons. We Energies says "up to 1.15 million gallons…of water from Lake Michigan are used every minute to convert the exhaust steam from the turbines back into water for reuse. The water is returned to the lake."

In the future, Microsoft estimates it will use 8.4 million gallons a year. 

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"Good news, Lake Michigan has nothing to fear from our data center," Smith said. "This data center does not use very much water, but it does use a lot of electricity."

Microsoft says the maximum electricity needs for Phase 1 opening next year is 400 megawatts. That is about 7.5% of the maximum capacity of We Energies. Then Microsoft said its needs in a few years might be 900 megawatts – about 16% of We Energies capacity. 

FOX6 News asked Smith if that means the public will have to pay more for electricity to cover growing power needs. 

"Our number one focus is to ensure that Microsoft pays its own way, when it comes to electricity," Smith said. 

Microsoft is asking the Public Service Commission to jack up its rate to cover the extra infrastructure and power generation. 

Jobs in Wisconsin

What we know:

Once their first data center is fully operational, Microsoft will employ around 500 full-time employees, with that number growing to around 800 once the second data center is complete.  

Additionally, students at Gateway Technical College can train for high-demand roles through Wisconsin’s first Datacenter Academy.