January 7, 2025 – Microsoft has halted partial construction work at its $3.3 billion data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, which was intended for use by OpenAI. The company, which had previously been granted permission to develop up to 1,000 acres of land in the village, stated that while it is fully committed to advancing the first phase of the project, it is currently reassessing subsequent construction efforts.
In a statement issued to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), Microsoft revealed, “We have paused early construction work on the second phase as we evaluate our scope and recent technological changes, and consider how these might impact the design of our facilities.”
The tech giant further noted in the statement that it plans to meet with state government officials after completing the evaluation process. “We expect this process to take several months,” the statement read. “Meanwhile, our commitment and construction of the planned data center campus remain ongoing, which is a high priority for our business.”
Microsoft had earlier announced its intention to invest $3.3 billion in Wisconsin by 2026, and the company confirmed to WPR that it remains committed to fulfilling this promise.
According to a report published by Data Center Dynamics (DCD) last month, Microsoft intends to adopt a closed-loop, zero-evaporation cooling system at its data centers in Mount Pleasant and Phoenix, Arizona. The recent construction halt could potentially be related to this initiative.
