Wisconsin Lands $1B Meta Data Center as Mortenson Expands Hyperscale Work

Meta plans to speculate more than $1 billion to construct a 700,000-sq-ft knowledge heart campus in Beaver Dam, Wis., and has chosen Mortenson as the overall contractor for what state officers name one of many largest single private-sector tasks in Dodge County historical past.

Introduced final month, the information heart’s proposed location in Alliant Power’s Beaver Dam Commerce Park, about 40 miles northeast of Madison, shall be Meta’s thirtieth knowledge heart worldwide and its twenty sixth in the US. The corporate expects the campus to be on-line in 2027.

Meta says the ability is engineered to help increasing AI workloads and shall be constructed to LEED Gold requirements.

“We’re thrilled to find our latest knowledge heart in Beaver Dam,” mentioned Brad Davis, Meta’s senior director of neighborhood and financial growth, within the state’s announcement. He cited dependable vitality infrastructure, out there land and entry to expert labor as central to the location alternative.

Main Infrastructure and Energy Investments

Along with the information heart, Meta will finance almost $200 million in energy-infrastructure upgrades to help the venture’s giant electrical load.

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In keeping with Alliant Power, which is able to serve the ability, the work consists of new utility substations, transmission enhancements and regional community enhancements wanted to make sure dependable service for each the information heart and surrounding communities. The utility says the investments align with its broader grid-modernization technique throughout Wisconsin.

Meta additionally pledged $15 million to Alliant’s Hometown Care Power Fund, which gives energy-cost help to space households. State officers mentioned the contribution displays the corporate’s dedication to participating with the neighborhood through the upcoming multiyear development section, which is able to coincide with rising regional energy demand.

Wisconsin Financial Improvement Corp. estimates the venture will generate as much as 1,000 skilled-trade jobs at peak development and greater than 100 permanent positions. Beaver Dam Commerce Park has been a licensed growth website since 2019, and state officers say Meta’s choice confirms the long-term effort to prime websites for know-how and superior manufacturing funding.

Water, Cooling and Environmental Design

Dry-cooling programs depend on air-cooled warmth exchangers to take away server warmth with out evaporating water, a shift that may reduce operational water use dramatically in contrast with conventional cooling-tower programs.

Graphic courtesy of Adobe

The Beaver Dam campus will use dry-cooling know-how, eliminating operational water demand for cooling programs.

Not like evaporative programs used at many hyperscale campuses, dry-cooling strikes warmth by means of air-cooled warmth exchangers, sharply decreasing water necessities throughout data-center operations.

Meta additionally dedicated to restoring 100% of the water consumed by the ability to native watersheds—an more and more scrutinized challenge as AI-driven data-center growth accelerates throughout the U.S. The corporate additionally introduced a significant conservation initiative tied to the venture.

Meta will associate with the wetlands conservation group Geese Limitless, together with different environmental organizations, to revive 570 acres of wetlands and prairie across the website.

Meta mentioned about 175 acres shall be preserved for long-term conservation by means of agreements with landowners and environmental organizations.

State officers introduced that restoration work will start concurrently with early website development and that monitoring agreements will lengthen past the 2027 operational date.

Financial Development vs. Transparency Considerations

Whereas state and native leaders have framed the funding as a regional financial increase, the announcement has drawn scrutiny from residents involved about groundwater impacts and the transparency of the approval course of.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported {that a} small group of protesters gathered on the Nov. 12 announcement occasion in Beaver Dam, elevating questions on siting choices and long-term environmental impacts. Nevertheless, Beaver Dam Mayor Bobbi Marck mentioned the venture’s opinions have been dealt with in compliance with regulatory necessities.

“From town’s finish, all of these permits have been in line they usually have been following the regulation,” Marck instructed TMJ4 Information, including that officers will “belief, however confirm” by means of inspections because the venture progresses. Marck additionally emphasised the venture’s advantages, telling a neighborhood TV reporter she is “excited for the positive things this venture brings to Beaver Dam, together with the elevated tax base and extra jobs.”

Nonetheless, some residents stay cautious, saying they need further readability on water-use modeling, aquifer impacts and conservation commitments.

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Current analyses estimate that cooling and working giant knowledge facilities—notably these dealing with AI workloads—can eat water at ranges akin to a small city’s provide. One 2025 research discovered that, with out environment friendly cooling, water demand throughout AI-era knowledge facilities in water-stressed areas may enhance by greater than 50%. One other latest evaluation warned that data-center buildouts may increase water stress in overburdened basins by as much as 17%.

Nevertheless, beneath town’s growth settlement, Alliant Power and state regulators say these issues have been largely mitigated, noting that dry-cooling considerably reduces water demand in contrast with typical hyperscale amenities.

Mortenson Hones Area of interest in Burgeoning Area

Meta’s alternative in naming Mortenson as the overall contractor additional extends the Minneapolis-based builder’s portfolio of huge North American knowledge heart tasks. Whereas the contractor has not launched an in depth development schedule, the agency’s different work for Meta sometimes handles early civil work, utility integration, basis and structural sequencing, enclosure packages and mechanical, electrical and plumbing procurement for related campuses.

The Beaver Dam website presents a number of infrastructure-focused challenges frequent to latest data-center builds, together with speedy electric-load onboarding, coordination of latest substations, high-tolerance structural and mechanical programs engineered for AI-optimized operations and integration of dry-cooling and water-restoration programs.

Meta and Alliant say early work will heart on utility enablement and grading the 500-acre website for main basis and metal packages. With development anticipated to span a number of years, Mortenson and Meta plan to launch further particulars on contracting, native hiring and infrastructure phasing in early 2026.

The announcement comes amid continued nationwide development in knowledge heart development pushed by AI and cloud computing demand. Wisconsin officers say the state’s funding in energy infrastructure, transmission capability and licensed industrial websites positions it to compete for extra hyperscale tasks.

“Wisconsin is a frontrunner with regards to biohealth and superior manufacturing industries, and we’re excited to maintain constructing upon this custom as we change into the home to new world-changing technology,” mentioned Gov. Tony Evers (D).

He added the funding will “assist guarantee Wisconsin is assembly the calls for of the twenty first century and creating good, family-supporting jobs to help the workforce within the Beaver Dam neighborhood and throughout the higher area.”