Mention “infrastructure development” and thoughts turn to the bridge and road construction across the region. But there’s another infrastructure — a digital infrastructure — being developed across Northeast Wisconsin, which includes the laying of high-speed fiber networks, building 5G cellular networks and data center construction.
Digital infrastructure is the combination of hardware, software, networks and data centers that enable services such as internet access, cloud computing, data storage and communication technologies. And nearly all businesses utilize that infrastructure as they gather, store and process data, whether it’s from client accounts, sales information or machines on a factory floor.
And the amount of data being produced continues to increase as more businesses utilize artificial intelligence (AI), which requires large amounts of data to work. That data needs to be stored and quickly accessible through high‑speed internet and cellular networks.
Collaboration is essential in building out the region’s digital infrastructure, says Barbara Koldos, vice president of business development for New North, Inc.
“We’re working together on a number of fronts to strengthen the region’s digital infrastructure. There’s a lot in place already but there is more work to do, especially in getting broadband in more rural areas,” she says.
Broadband is just one piece of the puzzle. Data centers are another. Many companies have their own onsite data centers, but Northeast Wisconsin is home to a co-location data center near Appleton where companies can rent server space.
Last year, ark data centers purchased a former Kimberly-Clark Corp. building in the village of Harrison. Set on 24.5 acres, the facility spans 7,190 square feet and is currently under construction to add more space, so it has a capacity of 20 megawatts.
“When businesses utilize data centers, they can outsource that management and not worry about hiring someone to watch over everything — and they don’t need to worry about the energy side of the equation,” says Jason Mathwig, industry alliance director for New North, Inc.
He adds that small and mid-sized businesses can usually host their data on site, but larger companies usually need a separate location.
Marcus Dumke is a consultant of strategy, growth and special projects, currently working in the industries of industrial demolition, industrial equipment, semiconductors and OEM manufacturing. He says the region is building a strong digital infrastructure.
“Data is the new oil, and data centers are the refinery,” he says. “What creates data? It’s created by human input and the ‘eyes and ears’ of machines. Those eyes and ears are sensors, and Wisconsin has a major competitive advantage in this industry.”
Handling all that data
Data is everywhere, from customer information to inputs from manufacturing equipment. Companies producing the greatest amounts of data — health care, logistics and manufacturing — are the largest employers in Northeast Wisconsin.
Businesses produce more data than ever, and data production is not slowing down, says Pete Dulcamara, founder of Pete Dulcamara & Associates, LLC in Neenah and the former vice president of corporate research for Kimberly-Clark Corp. That data creation will help power businesses that improve people’s lives.
“All companies need data, AI and robotics to be successful,” he says.
Dulcamara says business leaders are constantly looking for ways to improve their products and services, and data is one way to do that. “That data can help you make decisions,” he says. “And people can also think about what kind of AI tool can be deployed to solve a particular problem.”
Business leaders can also employ new technology that runs AI in the background to make operations run more smoothly.
“We’re in the best time now for innovation. There’s more computing power in your phone than NASA had in 1969 when it put men on the moon,” Dulcamara says. “But everyone is at a different point with their data development.”
He says some businesses worry about adapting AI, whether it is concern they’re too late or that they’re making the wrong decision.
Manufacturing is one industry where data is seeing a huge boost as machines gather information about inputs, what’s being produced and more. Dumke says eventually all physical outputs will have a digital twin.
For example, a company makes tractors. In addition to the physical tractor, a digital tractor also exists that a prospective customer could “drive” and make sure meets their needs while wearing a pair of virtual reality glasses.
“A lot of firms are working in this space already, and more will continue to do so,” he says.
Buildout
Mathwig says Wisconsin is an ideal location for data centers and businesses with a heavy digital footprint. He says the area has ample land for data centers, access to water to help keep data centers cool, a lack of natural disasters and a coveted location between Chicago and the Twin Cities.
“Data centers need to stay on. They can’t go offline because of hurricanes or earthquakes,” Mathwig says. “Our weather is naturally cooler, which also helps in keeping the centers cool. Then they don’t require as much energy to keep cool.”
Koldos says the buildout of broadband infrastructure is critical to the region. “Broadband is the great equalizer. If you have strong broadband, it doesn’t matter the location of your business because you’re connected to everywhere,” she says.
New North, Inc. is committed to building out broadband across the region, Koldos says. The organization is working with local municipalities to make sure they have the resources they need to apply for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant funding. BEAD federal grants are designed to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs.
“Our hope is that BEAD will allow us to fill any gaps” in areas without broadband access, Koldos says.
Mathwig says it is essential the region does what it can to build out broadband access.
“If we don’t continue to build up our digital infrastructure, we will be left behind. We need to keep up with technology,” he says. “All industries rely on high-speed broadband. It’s become an essential utility, like electricity.”
Koldos points to health care as an example. “Their centers process a large amount of data. If they need to send an imaging file to another location to have it be read, we need that high-speed broadband so it can be done in a timely manner,” she says.
Automation also requires a lot of digital inputs; as manufacturers automate more, that additional data needs to be stored somewhere.
Dulcamara says it is essential the region continues to develop its digital infrastructure.
“Wisconsin is becoming a digital oasis. It’s critically important to have this digital technology,” he says.
Powered up
Filled with hundreds — or even thousands of servers, depending on their size — data centers consume a lot of energy to keep the machines running and to keep them at a cool temperature. (When servers run, they can generate a lot of heat.)
Data centers are sized by how much energy they use. While ark data centers’ facility in Harrison eventually will have a capacity of 20 megawatts, that’s nothing compared to Microsoft’s planned data center in Mount Pleasant in Racine County, which is being designed as 450 megawatts — enough to power 300,000 homes.
“The elephant in the server room is that data centers consume a massive amount of energy,” Dumke says. “Building data centers at scale necessitates building power generation on site. Renewables are a wonderful supplement but cannot replace ‘firm production’ sources. They need to work together until a next‑generation scalable power source is proven out.”
Many data centers are powered by solar and wind power, with WE Energies investing heavily to acquire new wind and solar farms to help power the plants in addition to its fossil fuel power plants.
There’s also excitement about new possibilities for energy creation. The former Kewaunee Nuclear Plant on Lake Michigan could be tapped to produce energy using its molten salts. When it was a nuclear plant, the molten salts were used as a coolant. With this new type of plant, the salts are circulated through the reactor core, where it undergoes fission and produces heat. That heat is then transferred to a secondary loop, where it can generate electricity.
Late last year EnergySolutions, which owns the site, entered into a memorandum of understanding with Terrestrial Energy about the plant and possibly using it to produce energy using molten salts. No final decision has been made, but if that did happen it would create energy that could be used to power data centers. Kewaunee County officials are working on the plan, which could bring hundreds of well-paying jobs to the area.
“We are in need of more sources of power,” Dulcamara says.
