MADISON, Wis. — A decision from state regulators has sent a plan for power lines to serve the AI data center campus in Port Washington back to the drawing board.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) voted unanimously to revoke the project’s completeness determination, forcing American Transmission Company (ATC) to start over on its application process.
“This application is clearly underwater, nearly underwater, and this action. . . is akin to tossing it a life preserver,” Commissioner Chairperson Summer Strand said at Thursday’s meeting.
The billion-dollar transmission line project is intended to serve the Vantage data center campus for OpenAI and Oracle. It would add new power lines and rebuild existing lines, as well as construct five new substations.
The rare PSC decision comes after ATC made over 500 amendments to its original application since December, including modified routes, costs and environmental studies. Commissioners have 180 days after an application is initially submitted to take final action.
State regulators called the project a “moving target,” with the myriad changes making it impossible for the PSC to properly assess its economic, environmental and public impacts.
The proposal across five counties including Ozaukee and Washington has been met with strong public opposition, as thousands submitted comments against it to the PSC. But Strand stressed that revoking a completeness determination does not mean the ATC project will ultimately be denied entirely.
“I do want and need to be perfectly clear; revocation should not be misconstrued as a rejection of this project,” said Strand.
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