FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Madison, WI—This week, a Dane County Circuit Court sided with Midwest Environmental Advocates in a legal dispute over the public’s right to know how the unprecedented energy needs of hyperscale data centers will impact Wisconsin communities.
In an oral ruling delivered during an August 17 hearing, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Ehlke found that the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) acted unlawfully when it denied a public records request seeking unredacted documents related to electrical load projections at Meta’s Beaver Dam data center. The PSC defended its refusal to release the information, claiming it was a trade secret. Judge Ehlke, however, was not convinced. He ruled that the information did not qualify as a trade secret because it lacked independent economic value, and he ordered its release.
Midwest Environmental Advocates Attorney Michael Greif said, “This ruling is an important victory for government transparency. Wisconsinites deserve to understand the scale of these projects and what they will mean for their communities. That requires access to basic information about how much power data centers will consume.”
According to a report by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, the Beaver Dam data center is one of three data center projects responsible for a projected 40 percent increase in statewide energy demand over the next six years. The majority of that demand will be served by new natural gas plants or upgrades to existing gas plants.
In a separate lawsuit, MEA and the Sierra Club are challenging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ decision to issue permits for a data center in Port Washington without fully evaluating the project’s environmental consequences. The lawsuit seeks answers about the extent to which tech companies and data center developers are influencing decisions that impact Wisconsin’s environment.
“Because hyperscale data centers require massive amounts of electricity, their development it already spurring the construction of new gas plants, substations and high-voltage transmission lines,” said Greif. “Unless data center proposals are subjected to meaningful public scrutiny, the result will likely be a significant increase in climate pollution at the very moment we need to be moving away from fossil fuels.”
Learn more about this case here.
