With the flurry of data centers and large farm expansions across Wisconsin, rural advocates are voicing concerns about what they see as a pattern of corporate extraction from their communities.
The state has at least 50 data centers and more than 350 permits for concentrated animal feeding operations, with pending projects for both. Two of the state’s AI data centers will reportedly use more energy than all the homes in the state, according to Clean Wisconsin.
Danny Akenson, organizer for the group Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin, said both industries consume millions of gallons of water and pose significant climate risks to air, land and water quality.
"These two industries are just two examples of a big corporate agenda that is extracting wealth from our communities, extracting resources and subsidizing the costs of their operations onto community members," Akenson contended.
Data center supporters said they are critical for economic development, job creation and boosting the state’s digital infrastructure. And large-scale farming operators argued there are state regulations to ensure safeguards for the environment, and expansion is necessary to meet increasing demand.
As more local governments try to rein in construction of new data centers, Wisconsin lawmakers are considering ways to regulate the rapidly growing sector, including a bill to keep data center information public.
Akenson stressed current state regulations for both data centers and concentrated animal feeding operations fail to protect communities from their negative effects and create opportunities for corporate overreach.
"What we're seeing more across the state of Wisconsin is the proliferation of really these mega dairies and mega CAFOs that are squeezing small farmers out," Akenson pointed out. "Even family-owned CAFOs that might be 1,000 cows or 2,000, we're seeing a whole different scale."
Akenson noted it will be a critical election year in Wisconsin and the environmental effects will likely become key campaign issues. He emphasized the importance of local organizing to protect communities and stronger legislative action to address systemic problems.
