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Action Alert: Stop the New Gas Plant Proposed in Darien, Wisconsin to Power Hyperscale Data Centers
- 17 hours ago
- 6 min read
The Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates Wisconsin utility monopolies, is currently accepting public input on a new gas plant proposal. The Foundry Ridge Methane Gas Plant would be a 324 MW polluter in the Town of Darien in Walworth County, Wisconsin. We Energies/WEPCO has plans to buy the plant after Invenergy builds it for new hyperscale data centers. Hyperscale data centers require a massive amount of energy, and if powered by fossil fuels, massive amounts of water. Sharing your concerns, even if you only have time for a sentence or two, is impactful:
The Foundry Ridge methane gas plant would cause significant health harm, including an estimated 31 early deaths and $360 million in health damages.
Air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM 2.5), nitrogen oxides, and benzene, can make people of all ages sick. These pollutants negatively affect almost every organ system, including the kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain, and contribute to low birth weight, miscarriages, and increased infant mortality.
We Energies/WEPCO is exploiting a loophole in Wisconsin law to build new polluting projects for data centers with less public scrutiny. Wisconsin law allows independent energy developers to build “merchant plants” without first proving there is a need for the electricity. Invenergy, an independent energy developer, is using this pathway to propose two new gas plants in Southeastern Wisconsin– Foundry Ridge and Red Oak Ridge. We Energies/WEPCO has already filed a buy-sell application to buy both gas plants from Invenergy to serve new large energy demands from hyperscale data centers. Therefore, this merchant plant loophole would allow major fossil fuel infrastructure to advance before regulators fully evaluate the need, enabling projects intended to serve hyperscale data centers to move forward with less public scrutiny.
Talking Points
Due to the numerous negative impacts associated with methane gas facilities, we are asking that the PSC deny the Foundry Ridge Gas Plant proposal. Here are five talking points:
Health harms - This new methane gas plant would cause significant health risks, including an estimated 31 early deaths and $360 million in health damages.
From extraction to combustion, methane ‘natural’ gas contributes to increased health harms: cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, kidney disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders such as Alzheimer's, cognitive and behavioral issues, and lower academic performance.
Air pollution can negatively affect almost every organ system, including the kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain, and it contributes to low birth weight, miscarriages, and increased infant mortality.
Exposure to poor air quality is a leading risk factor for early death.
National Institutes of Health research shows those living in a zip code with a fuel-fired power plant experience asthma hospitalization rates 11% higher, respiratory infection rates 15% higher, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) rates up 17% higher than demographically similar zip codes with no power plant.
Medical research shows there is no safe level of particulate matter for human health.
This rural community is already unfairly overburdened by poor air quality - According to National Institute on Health data, Walworth County has chronic air pollution that fails Clean Air Act standards.
According to an NIH Report on Air Quality in Wisconsin Counties, Walworth County had the fourth-highest Particulate Matter (PM2.5) levels in the state at 9.1mg/m3. These levels surpass the updated US EPA Clean Air Act Standard for particulate matter of 9.0 mg/m3.
The air quality in Walworth County is under-monitored or not monitored by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) throughout the calendar year. The WI DNR operates only one regulatory ozone monitor in Elkhorn, Walworth County, which only runs from April to October. This leaves the community vulnerable, without baseline data or a way to monitor for increases in other air pollutants like particulate matter.
Our fresh water shouldn't be used to power data centers - Fossil fuel power generation is already responsible for 70% of water withdrawals in Wisconsin, and that number would rise if more gas plants are built.
According to an analysis by Clean Wisconsin, if fossil fuels are used to meet the energy needs of the Port Washington data center alone, “the off-site water use would be at least 54 million gallons a day. For comparison, that’s the water use of about 970,000 Wisconsin residents. It’s more than twice the amount of water used by every home, business and manufacturer in the City of Green Bay.”
Renewable energy and energy efficiency provide alternatives that do not use massive amounts of water. Clean water is fundamental to human health and makes Wisconsin special. We must protect it, especially as droughts become more common.
Climate impacts - Internal memos show that fossil fuel companies have scientific evidence suggesting that the lifecycle emissions from methane gas may be equal to those from coal, but continue to market it as 'natural' or clean to lock in profits. Gas is not a climate solution, and this plant will lock us into decades of dangerous pollution.
The Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change explicitly suggests to “avoid all new fossil fuel infrastructure for electricity generation” and “avoid any new natural gas plants.”
The extreme weather events we’re already experiencing, including historic droughts and floods, superstorms, record-breaking wildfires, and heat, will continue to worsen unless we cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly. These extreme weather events damage our quality of life, housing, the economy, and increase utility outages (reliability) and costs when infrastructure is damaged.
In 2021, the World Health Organization declared climate change to be “the single biggest health threat facing humanity.”
Studies from the Environmental Defense Fund show that methane leaks from U.S. onshore gas pipelines are occurring between 3.75 times and 8 times greater than estimated by EPA.
The solution - deny the project. Please also make sure the PSC's new 'very large user' rate is applied to this gas plant to ensure Wisconsin families don't pay for the infrastructure for data centers. We have better, safer, and cheaper energy options that won't kill Wisconsinites, and the richest companies on the planet shouldn't get a discount while our bills rise.
A study of the Wisconsin energy system demonstrated that in-state clean energy production is not only possible, but it would prevent over 85,000 asthma and respiratory cases and 2,000 premature deaths every year- culminating in a total of $21 billion in annual health savings for Wisconsin families while growing Wisconsin's GDP by 5%.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission recently adopted a 'very large user' rate for data centers in We Energies' territory, but this gas project application was submitted before that policy took effect. Unfortunately, that means it is unclear how the new rate will apply, so we must make sure that it is used here to ensure that data centers pay for 100% of their own costs
We have safer, cheaper alternatives that can meet Wisconsin’s needs with fewer public health impacts. Clean energy can provide safe, cost-effective, and reliable energy, as opposed to gas plants, which have been found to be disproportionately vulnerable to failure during severe weather.
We Energies, which has already submitted a buy-sell application for this gas plant, has stated that ‘resource diversity’ is one of its priorities. But in 2025, they were approved for two new methane gas plants (in Oak Creek and Paris), while, according to their own data, they generated nearly a third of their power from natural gas, a third from coal, and a third from nuclear, while utilizing only 2.6% solar and 2.6% wind. A true commitment to resource diversification would require a rapid expansion of renewable energy.
Gas proposals will often be framed under the lens of creating jobs, but reports show that investing in solar PV creates 1.5 times as many jobs as fossil fuels per $1 million.
Example Comment
This is a long example; to provide options for people to copy any lines they feel strongest about. Even submitting a single sentence is helpful, and your story is powerful.
First Name: Jane Last Name: Doe, DNP (Note: add your health credentials to your name)
“As a concerned [citizen/healthcare professional/parent…] I ask that the PSC staff deny the proposed Foundry Ridge Energy Center project due to the environmental and community health-related harms it will cause. Methane gas has negative effects on community health and the climate, and there are reliable options with overwhelmingly more positive outcomes, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy.
This gas plant will make people sick, especially young children in nearby rural communities. Methane gas use has been shown to increase health harms such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as cancer, kidney, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Fossil fuel power plants have been directly linked to higher rates of asthma, negative outcomes for fetal and infant health, and early death. Methane gas use also worsens climate change and associated extreme weather events, which have already caused increased strain on local farmers and hurt the health of Wisconsin families.
We Energies has already submitted a buy-sell proposal for this project, indicating that the demand for this project is coming from hyperscale data centers. Please make sure Wisconsinites are protected from all costs under the new VLC protection. It would not be fair for Wisconsinites to pick up any costs on their utility bills.
No community should be sacrificed to meet the energy demands of a hyperscale data center and forced to grapple with the negative water, health, and air impacts of a new gas plant. Please fulfill your obligation to protect the public and provide safe and affordable energy by denying the Foundry Ridge Gas Plant. Thank you.”
Looking for your next action to defend community health?
A 1,200 MW gas plant was proposed in Kenosha County, and written comments will be accepted until August 3rd.