Wisconsin data center tax incentives have cost taxpayers many of the benefits of the facilities such as sales tax, property tax and personal property taxes.
The state has also seen data center benefits in employment and for suppliers in the state.
Generac, a Genesee-based power generator company, has a $1.6 billion backlog of orders for data centers and has added hundreds of jobs and facilities in Beaver Dam and Sussex to increase capacity, according to an analysis from Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Modine, which makes indoor air and cooling systems in Racine, received a $4 billion order from Google related to data centers while Innio (Waukesha), Trane, Regal Rexnord and Modular Power and Data are all data center suppliers benefitting from the boom.
“This surge in business for state manufacturers is not necessarily contingent on data centers being built in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Policy Forum wrote. “However, state and local officials could consider facilitating these expansions of manufacturing capacity through expediting land use approvals, offering state or local incentives, and providing worker training or apprenticeships.”
The report showed that 20% of data center building costs are related to construction and 68% is for items such as processors and electrical and cooling systems.
“While much of the spending on the building stays within the regional economy, much of the other spending goes to suppliers from outside the region such as semiconductor makers in Taiwan,” the report said. “In Wisconsin, this equipment, or personal property, is also not subject to the property tax; only land and structures are.
“So, when considering a data center’s impact, observers must discount the overall investment to account for the fact that not all of it will benefit the local economy or property tax base.”
