(BEAVER DAM) Beaver Dam may be home to not one, but two data centers. The Common Council heard from a Minnesota firm called Oppidan Monday. It wants to build an edge data center on Highway 151 at Hemlock Road.
“I like to think of them as kind of a signal booster,” said Pete Carbonneau, representing Oppidan. “(Edge data centers) help keep latency very low, so that when you send things across the internet, it doesn’t get bogged down.”
Oppidan’s proposal is for a 90,000 square-foot facility, compared to the 400,000 square-foot Meta AI data center under construction not far from the proposed Oppidan site.
“Edge data centers are far smaller in size and scope than hyper-scale centers,” said Beaver Dam Area Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Trent Campbell during a presentation to the Common Council.
Carbonneau and Campbell also said the edge data center would have a smaller impact on local natural resources, using about one-twentieth as much electricity as the Meta AI data center is expected to use, and about the same amount of water as one full-service restaurant.
The Oppidan data center is projected to hire 15 full-time employees.
Unlike Meta, Oppidan is not requiring a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the city in order to proceed with negotiations.
“Their transparency has been greatly appreciated,” said Campbell.
Secrecy surrounding the Meta project is one reason why many area residents are opposed to both data center projects.
“The first one you weren’t transparent about. I hope you are being transparent now,” said Diane Holland of Fox Lake during public testimony at Monday’s meeting. “And we can at least stop that and then we’ve got to hold the current one that’s coming up accountable.”
Residents have also expressed concerns about data centers’ track record on the environment, taxes, and property values.
“If they’re such a good thing, why are people fighting and rejecting them? Something’s wrong,” said Dawn Czajkowski.
The city and Oppidan are now in talks on a development agreement. After that, the next step would be a feasibility study.
