can. >> All right. We leave it
there. Grant Sovern, thanks very much.
>> Thank you. >> What do the leading
candidates running for governor think about data
centers? Here and now? Senior political reporter
Zac Schultz asked them as part of our continuing
series on the biggest issues in the race for
governor. >> Wisconsin's utility
companies are asking the Public Service Commission
to approve the largest rate hikes in history. And
that's before we see any impact from the data
centers being proposed around the state. So we
asked the candidates what role the state should play
in approving or facilitating these data
centers. >> Exciting new technology.
I think we need to make sure, on the energy side of
it, that we do not harm existing ratepayers. So
residential ratepayers and manufacturers, it would be
unfair to existing manufacturers for them to
pay much higher electricity rates just because a new
industry came in. So we're going to probably have to
find a new template. If AI and the data center
specifically come into Wisconsin, we're probably
going to have to find a new template of how we deal
with energy and the data centers.
>> There shouldn't be any corporations that are
coming in and jacking up prices for ratepayers. And
I'm not interested in the state providing subsidies
and handouts for large corporations that are
coming in who are really going to impact our clean
lakes, our air. And so the subsidies that folks might
be proposing and support are really concerning to me.
And I think right now we are seeing democracy at its
core strength with people who are speaking out and
defending their communities and talking about why they
do or do not support data centers.
to our party, if they want to be here, let's invite
them. But let's be at the table making sure that they
are good partners for the state and making sure that
we are negotiating the best deals that we can for the
state. I'm somebody who's been at that table. I've
had those conversations. I've worked with the big
data centers and the big providers. I've worked with
many big companies in negotiating for Wisconsin,
and I have that experience that I would bring to the
table, and I would be very hands on in making sure
that we're doing everything we can to protect Wisconsin
ratepayers, Wisconsin's environment, but also take
advantage of the opportunity that's offered
by the investment we're seeing in technology.
>> This is a huge issue, and we need a statewide
strategy to deal with data centers because they're
coming into local communities and kind of
steamrolling them. And I think that people deserve
to have a voice in what happens in their
need to really know what the impact is going to be
on our environment, on the water and land usage, as
well as the impact on ratepayers for these data
centers. I've sponsored legislation along with my
colleague, Senator Jodi Habush Sinykin, to ensure
transparency as these data centers are coming in and
trying to negotiate. >> So data centers, it's
important for us if they are going to be built here,
there has to be a community benefits agreement. If they
are to come. That means ensuring that there is
local hiring. That means ensuring that utility rates
are not going up for customers. It also means
ensuring that community input is prioritized. There
shouldn't be data center construction if there's
mass opposition from the communities that they are
going to go in. And this also means addressing
concerns like water quality. >> We all have a little
anxiety about that, and you see that at the local level
with these things. But I think the responsibility
that we have fundamentally is to just ensure that
these conversations, some that are happening at the
state level, a lot that are happening at the local
level, that they are the main thing that we have
with them is that there is transparency around them
and that the users of this are accountable and that,
you know, the benefits accrue to all of us and
that the responsibility for the costs aren't borne by
taxpayers. In the state of Wisconsin.
be a conversation with the community, and we want to
make sure that those data centers are in a community
that wants them. But what we have to do on the front
end is to make sure, contractually, that the
energy uses are not going to be borne on the back of
taxpayers, that they are going to be investing,
particularly in renewable energy, and that they are
going to be bearing those costs for those energies,
because we certainly don't want it to be on the backs
of taxpayers. for us to utilize new
technology, leverage the legacy industries that we
have here locally. When you think about manufacturing
and agriculture and and water technology and things
of that nature, to really make it a community benefit,
you know, bringing in a tech tech centers and data
centers and AI can be good, but we have to make sure
that we have those protections in place, while
also making sure that there's community benefits
that are going to be tied to this level of
development. How do we utilize this for our
schools? How do we utilize this to expand broadband?
How do we utilize this to to to expand the access
that our entrepreneurs have in every corner of the