(The Center Square) – Menomonie’s leadership on Monday unanimously approved regulation changes in zoning that will classify data centers in the northwestern Wisconsin community as such rather than in the same designation as warehouses.
Zoning, lot sizes, and land use for large artificial intelligence data centers is included in the changes.
Balloonist is considering building a data center in Menomonie. The new regulations mean Balloonist will need to reapply for zoning and permitting.
The community of about 17,000 off Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and Eau Claire is not alone in looking to set rules for data centers. Madison and Milwaukee are also looking at adopting data center regulations, as are state lawmakers.
State Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, R-River Falls, and Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood, on Monday introduced legislation that would create new statewide regulations.
“With guardrails in place, Wisconsin can be a leader in the digital economy while protecting residents and ensuring responsible development,” Quinn said.
The plan from Quinn and Zimmerman would:
• Prohibit energy costs for data centers from being passed on to other customers.
• Require any renewable energy used to power data centers to be located at the site.
• Require water used by a data center for cooling purposes to be recycled.
● Require data centers to annually report the total amount of water used.
• Require a data center to file a bond or security sufficient to cover the cost of any required reclamation.
• If construction of a proposed data center is not completed, the owner must restore the parcel to the condition that existed prior to any construction
“The bill I am introducing will prevent utility companies from passing their electricity costs on to any other customer. Wisconsin is open for business – just not at the expense of ratepayers already here,” Quinn added.
