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More data centers are coming.

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There are about

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50 data centers in Wisconsin

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right now

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but that will change as

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soon as more can get approved

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and construction can begin.

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I'm Steven Potter

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a reporter with

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PBS Wisconsin news.

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I've looked into this.

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Around the country, there are

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more than 5,000 data centers

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and the number of them here

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is growing.

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Large-scale data centers

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in Dodge and Green County

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are already under construction

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and others are being planned

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for Wood, Rock

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and Kenosha counties.

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Our ever-growing need

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for more computing power

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is what's driving this demand

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with a big push, of course

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from the use

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of artificial intelligence.

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But that doesn't mean

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that these data centers

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are a done deal

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wherever and whenever

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they're proposed.

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Some Wisconsin residents

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are angry and are teaming up

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to push back against these

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data center developments.

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They say they don't want them

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wrecking natural resources

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or ruining

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the rural landscape.

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What unfolds is a battle

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between local residents

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and big technology corporations

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with government

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and elected officials

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often caught in the middle.

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To learn more about this

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and to find out who's

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winning the battles over

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big data centers

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find my story about it

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at pbswisconsin.org