QTS plans $12B data center, jobs boost for Wisconsin

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DeForest, Wisconsin, is next up for a billion-dollar data center development.

Virginia-based QTS Data Centers has announced it will advance plans for a $12 billion data center development and a $50 million community commitment for Dane County, which will include direct investment in DeForest and Vienna, less than 20 miles north of Madison. Company officials said the project will create jobs, increase the use of renewable energy and support growth across the county.

The company will submit its zoning application to the DeForest Village Board in November, company officials said. If approved, the project would be a “landmark investment in Wisconsin” and will create more than 5,000 construction jobs and hundreds of full-time positions with support from local building trade unions, they added.

Officials said the company will work with local stakeholders in Vienna, DeForest and Dane County and establish $50 million in community commitments that will support education, workforce development and housing initiatives across the county. The company will also fund scholarships and workforce partnerships with Madison Area Technical College and develop research partnerships with the University of Wisconsin, they added.

Officials also said there was a proposed agreement between QTS and Alliant Energy to enable renewable resources and lower the cost for Alliant Energy‘s planned renewable facilities. The agreement will be facilitated by the sale of renewable energy credits from around 750 megawatts of renewable energy sources.

“For more than two decades, we’ve built lasting partnerships with the communities where we live, work and raise our families,” said Tag Greason and David Robey, co-CEOs of QTS, in a joint statement. “Together, we’ll continue to listen, support and grow with the people of Wisconsin as trusted neighbors in a shared future. As digital infrastructure becomes essential to every industry — and a pillar of our national security — we’re excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Dane County community.”

Both the Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139, which represent more than 20,000 workers combined, praised the announcement of the new data center and the work that comes with it.

The full cost of renewable projects will be funded by QTS, Local 139 officials said.

“Facilities as complex as the proposed QTS data center require highly skilled professionals for construction,” said Terry McGowan, president and business manager of Local 139, in a statement. “Union workers, like the members of Local 139, are uniquely positioned to build this project safely, on time and within budget. These large projects have the potential to provide family-sustaining wages to 4,000 to 5,000 construction workers and meaningful training opportunities for registered apprentices. I am optimistic that QTS will use local union labor to the greatest extent possible for this project.”

“This proposed data center is a significant and long-term investment that will contribute to DeForest’s growth,” said Kent Miller, president and business manager of the Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council. “This is similar to the long-term investment in the community that our union made over 20 years ago, when LIUNA Wisconsin built our Apprenticeship and Training Center in DeForest off Highway 19 on LIUNA Way.”

Union members work to project and put together a career to support families, Miller said. The project will result in years of work that will allow workers to earn sizable wages, health and retirement benefits, he added.