Microsoft finishes construction of Mount Pleasant data center, plans for more

Microsoft has completed construction of a massive data center in Mount Pleasant Wisconsin and plans additional facilities at the site. Workers at the 315-acre facility started bringing equipment online in April and the center is now fully operational employing close to 550 full-time people according to the company. Construction of a second Microsoft data center is ongoing next door to the first and is set to be completed by 2028. Once that facility is fully online the number of full-time data center employees in the area could grow to 800 Microsoft says. In January the Mount Pleasant village board approved site plans for up to 15 more Microsoft data centers which could be built over the next decade. The newly completed data center is referred to as Fairwater by Microsoft. In a statement Tuesday Mount Pleasant Village President David DeGroot described its construction as a historic milestone for the village which is home to some 28000 residents in Racine County. As this campus continues to grow it will create lasting opportunities for residents strengthen our regional economy and help position Wisconsin for long-term success DeGroot said in a statement. Data center construction has been growing throughout the Great Lakes region fueled largely by the data demands of artificial intelligence technology. In some Wisconsin communities data center proposals have been met with intense pushback from people concerned about high energy and water use by the facilities.