Wisconsin Rapids eyes rising utility costs

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WFHR / WIRI) – There are at least 47 data centers in Wisconsin and plans for more as demand explodes. Data centers use loads of electricity and that’s driving up costs. One municipal electric company is hoping to offset the increase in electricity costs in the future by generating some of their own power.

Great Lakes Utilities provides electricity to 13 municipalities, including Wisconsin Rapids who is one of the founding members. The city utility company Water Works and Lighting Commission (WWLC) is considering a proposal by Great Lakes Utilities and One Energy to build a 25 acre solar power plant to help offset predicted soaring energy costs.

“This is a very scary forecast,” says Todd Weiler, General Manager of WWLC. “We’ve never seen this before in the history of the United States.”

Graph information showing projected demand was gathered by WWLC from the MISO Midcontinent Independent System Operator site.  The cost to build the infrastructure (generation and transmission lines) needed to meet this demand is what will be driving up electrical costs.

Data centers are driving electricity demand

The Pew Research Center found that US data centers consumed 183 terawatt hours of electricity in 2024. By 2030, that figure is projected to grow by 133-percent to 426 terawatt hours. Data Center Map shows the location of 4259 data centers in the US.

Wisconsin Rapids no longer generates any of its own power. Consolidated Water Power Company owns the five dams on the Wisconsin River. They use that power for the area paper mills still in operation and also purchase from the market. Weiler says these proposed solar power plants would generate power that would stay within the WWLC grid. This wouldn’t reduce current prices, but could keep prices from climbing as fast as other areas of the state.

“ All of the consultants that Great Lakes Utilities uses are telling us that if we keep our same pattern and we go out on the market and we buy the electricity for our customers, you are going to see increases much higher than we’ve ever seen in the past,” explains Weiler. “So we go back to those experts and we say, what can we do about that?”

The answer they’re getting from experts, Weiler adds, is to generate their own power.

“If Great Lakes Utilities could actually build its own generation at today’s prices, then we could lock in those prices for the future. And so that’s why this whole project is coming into fruition and we’re discussing it. It’s to try to keep our prices down for all of our customers in our 13 communities.”

Public hearing at City Hall

Around 60 people came out for the public hearing on Monday afternoon to speak for and against the solar power plant. Many were residents who live close to the proposed site on Whitrock and Two Mile Avenue. The Finance and Property Committee will meet in closed session on Tuesday evening. They’ll discuss the contract before any action is taken on the project.

Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Matt Zacher says the results of the closed session of the Property and Finance Committee will be available after the meeting. Even if the project is voted down, it could still be pulled into the Common Council meeting for consideration by the full council later this month.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional material and information on the link between energy demand and prices.