Beaver Dam could build second smaller data center

Beaver Dam could get a second, smaller data center after construction of Meta’s billion-dollar project started.

A proposal for a 90,000-square-foot “edge data center” by Excelsior, Minnesota-based Oppidan Investment Co. was reviewed on Monday by the Beaver Dam Common Council. The site is more than 13 acres and is located on the corner of U.S. Highway 151 and Hemlock Road on a city-owned lot, just south of the $1 billion artificial intelligence-focused data center being constructed for Meta.

Beaver Dam officials did not take action on the proposal. If the city finds Oppidan’s proposal favorable, they will create a development agreement, said Trent Campbell, the executive director of the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation.

“This project is significantly smaller than the past data center project, however you should still expect that there will be many people from all over Wisconsin attending to speak on the proposal,” wrote Larry Bierke, city administrator of Beaver Dam, in a staff memo.

Campbell presented the project at a city meeting with Peter Carbonneau of Oppidan.

If plans move forward, the city-owned land would be sold to Oppidan for $31,000 per acre, he said. There will be no tax incremental district incentive to the developer or for this project, he added.

At peak load, the data center is expected to use less than 20 megawatts, Campbell said. The nearby Meta data center is expected to use around 100 MW.

Alliant Energy has supplied a letter outlining the details needed to provide electric service to the developer, said Kimberly Mueller, a representative for the utility. Once a potential customer applies, Alliant Energy will complete an engineering review and estimated in-service dates costs to the customer, she added.

Once completed, the data center will use around 5,920 gallons of water each day, Campbell said. For comparison, the average restaurant uses 6,000 average gallons each day, he added.

Developer hasn’t required nondisclosure agreements with the city, Campbell said.

Around a dozen residents spoke on Monday at the meeting and shared concerns about transparency, pollution, electricity bills and property values.

The city will likely bring forward a draft development agreement on March 2 for the Common Council to discuss and consider, Bierke noted.