Data center bill clears Wisconsin Assembly with opposition

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Republicans in the Wisconsin State Assembly passed a bill to regulate the state’s expanding data center industry that is meant to address environmental concerns and costs passed down to ratepayers living near billion-dollar facilities. However, both Democratic lawmakers and construction unions that build both data centers and state renewable energy facilities disapproved of the legislation.

Assembly Bill 840 passed the Jan. 20 floor session by a 53-44 vote with state Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, voting “no” with Democrats and two Democrats, Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska and Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, voting “yes.”

If passed, the bill would establish requirements for data centers, including requiring the Public Service Commission to make sure rate costs set by construction or expansion of the energy grid to serve data centers would not be allocated or collected from other customers, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

The bill will also require any renewable energy facilities that primarily serve the load of data centers to be located at the site of a data center.

Solar, wind and other clean energy projects are booming in Wisconsin — some of it powered by tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act — and some of the state’s major utilities have agreements with construction unions to install them. The drafted bill doesn’t have a prevailing wage requirement for renewable energy projects on data center sites.

Both the construction electrician and utility worker locals of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers filed against the bill.

The Iron Workers District Council of the North Central States, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, Plumbers Local 75, Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation Workers Local Union 18 and Wisconsin Laborers District Council have also filed in opposition.

Rep. Darrin Madison, D-Milwaukee, said in a statement the bill failed to address data center energy consumption. Some data centers being built in Wisconsin are projected to use as much power as a city.

“It provides no guarantees that the jobs created will be safe and well-compensated, much less union. Wisconsin badly needs those good-paying, safe, union-protected jobs,” he added.

The bill would also require data centers to use closed-loop cooling systems, which use a fixed volume of recycled water to remove heat from equipment, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

The bill will also require the operator of a data center to report the amount of water used over 12 months to the Department of Natural Resources. It will also require data center operators to file a bond or security with DNR to cover costs for any water reclamation.

Finally, the bill will also require data center owners to notify DNR and restore parcels to conditions before construction if construction of a proposed data center is not completed.

In late 2025, Democratic lawmakers proposed their own data center regulation bill, which included prevailing wage requirements for laborers or mechanics who build or refurbish large-scale data centers, be covered by a collective bargaining agreement, or go with the highest wage option. It also required data centers to report water and energy usage to the PSC, and for data center owners to certify to the Department of Safety and Professional Services that their facility has certification under sustainable design or green building standards.