Overview

• Microsoft said the second Mount Pleasant facility will be similar in size to the $3.3 billion first center, taking total planned investment in Wisconsin to more than $7 billion.
• The initial data center is slated to come online in early 2026 and, together with the expansion, is described by Microsoft as a platform for the world's most powerful AI supercomputer using hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips.
• Company officials said the first site will employ about 500 people, growing to roughly 800 across both centers once the second becomes operational, with construction targeted to finish in 2027 or later.
• City of Racine records released after a lawsuit show projected water use of 234,000 gallons per day in phase one and up to 702,000 gallons per day at full build-out, with wastewater estimated at 81,000 and then 243,000 gallons per day.
• Microsoft reiterated plans for closed-loop liquid cooling that uses water mainly at initial fill and on the hottest days, and said it will pre-pay for electrical infrastructure and match fossil-fueled consumption with carbon-free energy, even as outside analysis flags large regional power needs.