Environmental Group Sues Wisconsin Regulator Over Secrecy of Meta's AI Data Center Energy Demand
January 5, 2026
A legal challenge in Wisconsin has brought the escalating tension between rapid data center expansion and public transparency into sharp focus. As tech giants like Meta Platforms Inc. invest heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure, the associated massive energy and water demands are increasingly drawing scrutiny from communities and environmental advocates. The Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) has filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC), alleging the regulatory body is unlawfully withholding electrical load projections for Meta's planned AI data center campus in Beaver Dam. The environmental group argues that the PSC is keeping this critical information secret based on claims by either Meta or a utility company that the data center's electricity demand constitutes a trade secret. "We call on Alliant Energy, American Transmission Company, and Meta to be forthright with the public about their plans," said MEA legal fellow Michael Greif. "These companies are asking a lot of the public, and the public deserves, at the very least, basic information about the data center's massive energy needs." The lawsuit highlights a growing pattern where detailed resource consumption forecasts for large-scale data centers are shielded from public view. This case follows the PSC's recent release of load information for a separate 1.3-gigawatt project in Port Washington, contrasting with its refusal to disclose similar details for the Beaver Dam site. Meta's first campus in Wisconsin, officially announced in November 2025, represents a significant investment. The project is expected to cost approximately $1 billion and span more than 700,000 square feet on a campus optimized for AI workloads. Groundwork has reportedly begun, with operations slated to commence in 2027. This development is part of Meta's broader global infrastructure push, which includes around 30 data center campuses and a recently announced plan to invest $600 billion in its data center buildout by 2028. The legal action underscores a critical juncture for the data center industry. "This lawsuit is about making sure Wisconsin residents have access to the critical information they need to understand and evaluate the impacts of the fast-growing data center industry," Greif stated. "Keeping the public in the dark about data centers and the amount of water and energy they will use deprives Wisconsinites of the transparency they deserve." The outcome could set a precedent for how utilities and regulators balance corporate confidentiality with the public's right to know about projects that significantly impact local grids and resources, potentially influencing siting and approval processes for future hyperscale developments nationwide. Source: datacenterdynamics
