The first phase alone of Microsoft’s data center in Mount Pleasant will likely require the same amount of electricity needed to power more than 300,000 homes, according to new information obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
Put into context, the City of Milwaukee has around 262,000 housing units.
The data center will, by far, be the largest individual user of electricity in the state, according to the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocate for public utility customers.
Data centers house thousands of computers, in one or more buildings, linked to the outside world by fiber optic cables. They enable most everyday online activities, including social media, streaming video, banking, ChatGPT and much more.
Microsoft’s investment in Wisconsin is one of the company’s largest.
“We appreciate that this growth also requires a lot of electricity, and we’re committed to paying our own way to add more electricity to the grid, with a priority on carbon-free energy,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an email to the Journal Sentinel.
Here’s what we know about the power that’ll be needed for the Microsoft project:
How will the Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant get its electricity?
Microsoft says it’s working with We Energies to bring to the power grid new sources of electricity equal to the amount the Mount Pleasant data center will use without leading to an increase in the price of electricity for its neighbors.
The company said it didn’t currently have power usage estimates for beyond the first phase of the data center but said its goal is to develop solar and other clean energy sources as quickly as possible.
“This is critical to support our climate sustainability goals because it is not currently possible to deliver to Mount Pleasant all the electricity we need directly from carbon-free sources,” Microsoft said.
What is We Energies doing to meet the Microsoft data center’s needs?
We Energies says it’s investing more than $9 billion in renewable energy by 2029, including new solar, wind and battery storage projects. There’s a new solar energy park in Kenosha County that went into service in December and is capable of providing enough energy to power about 60,000 homes.
The utility has also sought permission from the state Public Service Commission to build natural-gas-fired power plants for the area that includes Mount Pleasant.
But environmental groups say climate change is going to worsen while utilities rely on natural gas and other carbon-based fuels.
Data centers — and the power they take to operate — are going to be a balancing act between benefits and concerns.
“The devil’s always in the details,” said Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin. “It underscores the importance of having a commitment to transparency and accountability.”
More: Massive Microsoft data center brings new promise – and water and energy challenges – to Racine County.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Microsoft data center will use enough electricity for 300,000 homes
