Wisconsin Senate Bill SB843

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/15/26
• Refer: 1/15/26
• Report Pass: 3/13/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to create 196.20 (10), 196.492 and 299.70 of the statutes; Relating to: certain requirements related to data centers.

Summary

SB843 would create a new set of state requirements for data centers in Wisconsin. The bill defines a data center as a facility primarily used to store, manage, and process digital data, and then imposes conditions on how such facilities may be built and operated. It directs the Public Service Commission to make sure electric infrastructure costs tied primarily to serving a data center are not shifted to other utility customers, and it requires any renewable energy facility that primarily serves a data center to be located on the same site as the data center. The bill also adds environmental and financial responsibility requirements. Data centers would have to use closed-loop cooling systems for water used in cooling, report annual water use to the Department of Natural Resources, and file a bond or other security sufficient to cover reclamation costs. If construction of a proposed data center is not completed, the owner would have to notify DNR and restore the site as nearly as feasible to its preconstruction condition. The bill would create new statutory provisions in chapters 196 and 299 governing utility cost allocation, renewable energy siting, water use, and reclamation for data centers.

Impact

SB843 would significantly expand state regulation of data center development and operation by adding new PSC, DNR, and utility-related requirements. It would affect electric rate-making, renewable energy facility siting, water-use practices, and site restoration obligations, while also creating a financial assurance requirement before construction can proceed. The bill would primarily affect data center operators, developers, utilities, and potentially customers of electric utilities if infrastructure costs were otherwise spread broadly.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate in the materials supplied. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to reflect concern about protecting utility ratepayers, conserving water, and ensuring that data center development does not leave environmental or financial liabilities behind. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, indicating it did not advance to enactment.

Contention

The likely points of contention are the bill’s cost-allocation rule, the on-site renewable energy requirement, and the closed-loop cooling mandate. Data center developers and potentially utilities may view these provisions as restrictive or costly, especially the requirement that infrastructure costs not be recovered from other customers and that renewable generation be located at the data center site. Environmental and consumer protection interests would likely support the water reporting, reclamation, and financial security provisions as safeguards against resource use and abandoned construction sites.