Vantage's $15B+ investment in Port Washington represents the future of sustainable digital infrastructure with zero-emission energy resources, water-positive operations and billions in regional economic growth
OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, today announced plans to develop a data center campus outside Milwaukee in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The new campus is part of OpenAI and Oracle's previously announced partnership to invest up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional Stargate capacity and is the Midwest site that was recently announced as part of OpenAI's Stargate expansion.
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Vantage Data Centers' $15B+ campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin represents the future of sustainable digital infrastructure.
The campus will feature four cutting-edge data centers providing close to a gigawatt of AI capacity. Construction will begin soon and is scheduled for completion in 2028. The project expects to create more than 4,000 skilled construction jobs, most of which will be union jobs. Once complete, Vantage and Oracle will create more than 1,000 long-term jobs and thousands more indirect jobs.
The campus, named Lighthouse, is designed to preserve local resources, support new clean energy resources and advance environmental stewardship, including:
- 100% Matched Zero-Emission Energy: Vantage is enabling the development of new zero-emission energy capacity in Wisconsin, including solar, wind and battery storage. Seventy percent of the energy capacity will be allocated to the Lighthouse campus while 30% will be made available to all Wisconsin consumers. The remaining energy consumed by the campus will be matched with renewable energy purchases annually.
- Water Positive: The campus will leverage a closed-loop liquid cooling system that uses minimal water and drives significant energy savings. To minimize its impact on water resources, Vantage is investing in local water restoration projects to achieve water positivity, restoring more water to freshwater sources than the campus consumes.
- Biodiversity Net Gain: Vantage is developing 500 of 672 total acres for the four data centers, preserving and enhancing the surrounding natural spaces. This includes planting more than 2,000 native trees and other native landscaping to achieve a net gain in biodiversity, as well as protecting and enhancing existing wetlands and creating an eight-foot planted berm with native species for natural sound mitigation.
- LEED Certification: Vantage is pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the Lighthouse campus, underscoring the company's global commitment to sustainable building practices.
The campus will deliver immediate and significant long-term economic benefits to Port Washington residents and surrounding communities, including:
- Job Creation: More than 4,000 majority-union skilled construction jobs will be created; once complete, Vantage and Oracle are expected to create more than 1,000 long-term jobs and thousands more indirect jobs-many of which will be women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
- Gross Domestic Product Contribution: An estimated $2.7 billion will be contributed to the regional gross domestic product (GDP).
- Infrastructure Upgrades: Vantage is investing a minimum of $175 million to make critical regional infrastructure upgrades, including expanded capacity for water and wastewater treatment facilities, upgraded water mains and sewer lines, a new water tower and power infrastructure that will not only benefit the Lighthouse campus but also the needs of Port Washington.
- Investment Shields Customers from Electricity Price Increases: Vantage is underwriting 100% of the power infrastructure investment with a dedicated electricity rate from WEC Energy Group utility We Energies. This proposed rate is designed to protect other customers from any price increases from the new investments to serve Lighthouse.
This campus, combined with other Stargate campuses in collaboration with Oracle, can deliver over 4.5 gigawatts of IT capacity.
"Expanding Stargate to Wisconsin is another major step toward building the infrastructure that will help ensure everyone can benefit from AI," said Peter Hoeschele, OpenAI's vice president of industrial compute. "This project will create good jobs, advance zero-emission energy and boost the local economy-all while expanding capacity without raising rates for local consumers. We're grateful to our partners at Oracle, Vantage and We Energies, as well as the many manufacturers, builders and suppliers across the region, for helping bring this ambitious vision to life."
"We're pleased to work with Vantage Data Centers as we continue to rapidly expand our cloud capacity to meet the growing demand for AI," said Mahesh Thiagarajan, executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. "Oracle's highly performant, secure and cost-effective AI infrastructure is fueling a new era of innovation that will fortify American leadership in AI worldwide."
"As demand for data centers expands beyond traditional hubs, the upper Midwest has become a critical and strategic market for Vantage Data Centers and our customers," said Dana Adams, president of North America, Vantage Data Centers. "Our investment in Wisconsin reflects the area's strong foundation for digital growth to support sustainable AI innovation at scale. Vantage is committed to being a good neighbor and is prioritizing investing in sustainable energy, minimizing local impact and partnering closely with the community to be an economic driver for the state."
"The benefits of welcoming data centers to Port Washington are undeniable. Vantage's once in a generation investment will create thousands of high-paying jobs-including more than 4,000 union-led construction and operational roles-driving long-term economic ripple effects across the region," said Mayor Ted Neitzke IV, Port Washington. "This investment will allow us to further strengthen public services and community development, enhancing the quality of life for our residents. We are proud to establish this partnership with Vantage and look forward to working closely with their team to progress this development while improving our city."
"We are profoundly grateful for Vantage's transformative investment in Port Washington and the Milwaukee Region," said Rebecca Gries, executive director of the Milwaukee 7, the regional economic development organization. "This commitment represents far more than a single project-it's a catalyst for regional transformation. By strengthening our position as a premier destination for innovation, talent and growth, Vantage's investment will create ripples of opportunity that extend well beyond the campus itself. From small businesses and manufacturers to housing and community development across all seven counties, this momentum will help shape the future of southeastern Wisconsin's economy for generations to come."
"By working with Vantage, we're delivering new clean energy for the Lighthouse campus and generating lasting benefits for Wisconsin," said Scott Lauber, president and CEO, WEC Energy Group. "Together with Vantage, we are adding nearly two gigawatts of new energy to the grid, 30% of which will be dedicated to the homes, farms and other businesses we serve today. This unique and thoughtful strategy will deliver growth without raising rates for our other customers, aligning with our shared commitment to reliability, sustainability and a positive community impact."
Together with Frontier, a Texas campus in Shackelford County, Vantage is investing more than $40 billion in critical digital infrastructure, underscoring the company's accelerating momentum to deliver high-density, next-generation digital infrastructure at unprecedented scale and speed for today's most advanced global tech leaders. Vantage's largest investors in its North America platform are DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG), the leading global alternative asset manager dedicated to investing in digital infrastructure, and Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing.
For more information about Vantage's rapidly growing North America portfolio, please visit: https://vantage-dc.com/data-center-locations/north-america/.
About Vantage Data Centers
Vantage Data Centers is a global leader in digital infrastructure serving the world's most influential AI and cloud providers. With operations spanning North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage delivers capacity at unrivaled speed and scale, driven by a relentless commitment to operational excellence and customer success. Vantage is empowering transformative companies to shape the future.
For more information, visit http://www.vantage-dc.com
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Contacts:
Press Contacts
Mark Freeman
Vantage Data Centers
mfreeman@vantage-dc.com
+1-202-680-4243
Robin Bectel
REQ for Vantage Data Centers
vdc@req.co
+1-202-936-6335
