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Bill > SB843


WI SB843

WI SB843
Certain requirements related to data centers.


summary

Introduced
01/15/2026
In Committee
01/15/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead

Introduced Session

Potential new amendment
2025-2026 Regular Session

Bill Summary

This bill establishes the following requirements related to data centers: 1. The Public Service Commission must ensure in its rate-making orders that no costs associated with the construction or extension of electric infrastructure that primarily serves a data center are allocated to or recovered from any other customer. Under current law, a public utility generally may not make a change to its rate schedules that constitutes an increase in rates, except by order of PSC after an investigation and opportunity for hearing. 2. Any renewable energy facility that primarily serves the load of a data center must be located at the site of the data center. 3. Water used by a data center for cooling purposes must be contained in a closed-loop cooling system, which is a system for removing heat from equipment and that relies on a fixed volume of water that is continually recycled. 4. The operator of a data center must annually report to the Department of Natural Resources the total amount of water used by the data center for the 12- month period prior to submitting the report. 5. A person may not operate a data center unless they file with DNR a bond or other security in an amount sufficient to cover the estimated cost of fulfilling any required reclamation. 6. If construction of a proposed data center is not completed, the owner must LRB-5918/1 KP&ZDW:cdc&skw 2025 - 2026 Legislature SENATE BILL 843 notify DNR and commence restoring the parcel to the condition that existed prior to any construction on the data center.

AI Summary

This bill establishes several requirements for data centers, which are facilities primarily used for storing, managing, and processing digital data. Firstly, it mandates that the Public Service Commission (PSC), a regulatory body, must ensure that any costs associated with building or extending electrical infrastructure specifically for a data center are not passed on to other customers. Secondly, any renewable energy facility, such as solar or wind power, that primarily powers a data center must be located at the same site as the data center. Thirdly, data centers must use a closed-loop cooling system, which means they must recycle a fixed amount of water continuously to remove heat from their equipment, rather than using a constant supply of fresh water. Additionally, data center operators will be required to annually report their total water usage for cooling to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Furthermore, before operating a data center, an operator must provide a bond or other form of security to the DNR, sufficient to cover the estimated cost of restoring the land if the data center project is abandoned. Finally, if construction of a proposed data center is halted, the owner must inform the DNR and begin restoring the site to its original condition before construction began.

Committee Categories

Business and Industry

Sponsors (33)

Last Action

Public hearing held (on 02/17/2026)

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