A Regional Threat, Not Just a Local Issue
The negative effects of Project Nova will not stop at Caledonia's borders. They will be felt across Oak Creek, throughout Southeast Wisconsin, and in the wallet of every single We Energies customer.
The Ripple Effect: Impacts Beyond Caledonia
For Our Neighbors in Oak Creek
Residents near Oakwood Road, Elm Road, and surrounding neighborhoods are on the front line. You will bear the immediate burden of constant construction traffic, the 24/7 industrial noise from cooling systems, and the pollution from diesel generator testing, all happening just across the street.
For All We Energies Customers
This data center's massive 450-600MW energy demand requires costly new infrastructure. Those costs will be socialized across all 1.1 million We Energies customers in Southeast Wisconsin, leading to a 5-15% rate hike to subsidize cheap power for one anonymous, out-of-state corporation.
The Hidden Costs: Your Property Value & Taxes
Data center deals consistently create a damaging financial loop for residents:
- Your Property Value Goes Down. Studies in communities like Prince William County, VA, show that homes adjacent to data centers and their high-voltage transmission lines can see a 5-10% decrease in property value. The constant noise, industrial view, and potential health concerns make the area less desirable.
- Your Property Taxes Go Up. To lure data centers, towns offer massive, long-term tax breaks. However, the immense cost of new roads, water mains, and electrical substations still has to be paid for. This burden falls on existing residents and small businesses through higher property taxes to cover the infrastructure that serves the tax-exempt corporation.
Quality of Life Destroyed
- Noise Pollution: A constant, 24/7 industrial hum of 45-60 decibels. Residents in Chandler, Arizona, described the noise from a similar facility as "torture."
- Air Pollution: Regular testing of massive diesel backup generators releases toxic emissions (NOx and particulates) into our air.
- Construction Chaos: Minimum 18 months of heavy truck traffic, dust, and disruption on Hwy 32 and local roads. 3 years likely if they stagger building of all 3 buildings.
Economic Drain, Not Gain
- Minimal Job Creation: These facilities are highly automated, creating only 50-100 permanent jobs—a tiny fraction of the thousands promised in similar "mega-projects" like Foxconn.
- Corporate Welfare: This project gives a windfall to the company that ruined the land in the first place, with the village getting little in return.
- Risk of Debt: If the project uses a TIF district, as Foxconn did ($911M), taxpayers are on the hook for decades if the promised tax revenue never materializes.
- Energy Grid Strain: The midwest grid is more strained than any other in the country. The addition of 24x7x365 usage of a data center adds to the strain much faster than more capacity can be built.
Our Shared Environment at Risk
- Energy Grid Strain: The 450-600MW demand will strain the regional grid, delay the retirement of polluting coal plants like the one in Oak Creek, and make our energy supply less reliable.
- Water Supply Depletion: It will consume 1 to 5 million gallons of water per day (if open loop cooling system) from our shared resource, Lake Michigan, threatening the entire watershed during a time of increasing water scarcity.
Corruption & The Foxconn Playbook
The key players and political maneuvering behind this project are deeply concerning. The RCEDC, which enabled the Foxconn disaster, is involved. The landowner, We Energies, is a major political donor, contributing over $5,000 to Village President Tom Weatherston since 2020 (LobbyMap).