This story has been updated.
(BEAVER DAM) The owner of the AI data center under construction in Beaver Dam is introducing itself to the community. It has already been widely reported that tech giant Meta is the owner of the development that will take up several hundred acres of land that was annexed from the Town of Trenton about a year ago.
Meta officials said Wednesday the company chose Beaver Dam for a host of reasons.
“We were able to identify a shovel-ready site, had robust infrastructure, a reliable electrical grid, and a deep and talented pool of talent,” Meta Director of Data Center Community and Economic Development Bradley Davis told Daily Dodge.
Concerns about the data center are motivating a group of area residents which is opposed to the development. In recent meetings and in testimony before the Beaver Dam Common Council, members have cited concerns about the amount of water the center will use and how increased energy demand will affect ratepayer bills throughout the city.
Group members also accuse Meta, the Beaver Dam Common Council, and state government officials of ushering in the data center with no public input.
“How can you approve a project of this magnitude in complete secrecy?” asked Beaver Dam resident Deborah Doerfert, one of a group of demonstrators outside Wednesday’s Meta announcement. “The public wasn’t even aware of this until recently.”
Davis said Meta will invest more than $1 billion in the local economy. 1,000 people are expected to be working construction jobs at the peak of the project. Davis said 100 people will work at the data center once it’s operational. The company is aiming for 2027.
Above: Officials with Meta, the City of Beaver Dam, the State of Wisconsin, and Alliant Energy pose for a ceremonial groundbreaking at Wednesday’s announcement.
Below: A group of area residents opposed to the Meta project pickets outside Wednesday’s announcement in Beaver Dam.
Click the link below to watch the press conference.
