OpenAI, Oracle & Vantage: Inside the US$15bn Data Centre

The AI gold rush has a logistics problem: it needs vast amounts of land, reliable power and communities willing to welcome energy-guzzling data centres. 

Port Washington, Wisconsin – a lakeside town of 12,000 people – has said yes to all three, landing a US$15bn campus that could influence the local economy and test whether green promises can coexist with industrial-scale AI infrastructure.

OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers are betting big on Port Washington with the Lighthouse campus – a sprawling development housing four hyperscale data centres that’ll deliver nearly1GW of AI computing capacity by 2028. 

To put that in perspective, it’s enough electricity to power 700,000 homes – except it’ll be feeding the processors crunching through training runs for large language models (LLMs) instead.

This project is swimming in sustainability commitments that read like a playbook for how tech companies hope to get communities onside. 

Vantage is enabling new renewable energy generation across Wisconsin through solar, wind and battery storage, with an interesting twist: 70% goes to Lighthouse, but 30% flows to regular Wisconsin consumers. 

It’s a clever political move that spreads the benefits beyond the campus gates.

The setup still relies on renewable energy credits to hit that 100% zero-emission target – meaning the actual electrons powering the servers might come from coal or gas plants while Vantage offsets the emissions through renewable purchases elsewhere. 

It’s standard practice in the industry, though purists argue it’s not quite the same as being directly powered by wind turbines.

WEC’s Energy unprecedented rate guarantee to ease local concerns

The energy partnership with WEC Energy Group is co-developing nearly two gigawatts of infrastructure through its We Energies subsidiary – a commitment that reflects both the staggering demand and the political minefield around data centres potentially driving up people’s bills.

“By working with Vantage, we’re delivering new clean energy for the Lighthouse campus and generating lasting benefits for Wisconsin,” says Scott Lauber, President and CEO of WEC Energy Group. 

“Together with Vantage, we are adding nearly two gigawatts of new energy to the grid, 30% of which will be dedicated to the homes, farms and other businesses we serve today.”

Additionally, WEC is guaranteeing that other customers won’t see rate increases from this infrastructure build.

“This unique and thoughtful strategy will deliver growth without raising rates for our other customers, aligning with our shared commitment to reliability, sustainability and a positive community impact,” says Scott.

That’s a direct response to the backlash data centres have triggered elsewhere when their arrival coincided with higher electricity bills.

The campus will use closed-loop liquid cooling systems, a technology that’s become essential as AI chips generate heat that traditional air conditioning simply can’t manage efficiently. 

Vantage is also promising water-positive operations through local restoration projects, though details on volumes and timelines remain vague.

Out of 672 acres, 500 will be developed while 172 remain preserved. 

Vantage is planting over 2,000 native trees, building an eight-foot sound-dampening berm and protecting wetlands. 

The company is also chasing LEED certification to make these environmental commitments official, though cynics might note that green credentials have become table stakes for any major infrastructure project these days.

“Our investment in Wisconsin reflects the area’s strong foundation for digital growth to support sustainable AI innovation at scale,” says Dana Adams, President of North America at Vantage Data Centers. 

“Vantage is committed to being a good neighbour and is prioritising investing in sustainable energy, minimising local impact and partnering closely with the community to be an economic driver for the state.”

The results of embracing transformation despite scale

The economic pitch is compelling, because construction will create over 4,000 union jobs, with Vantage and Oracle adding more than 1,000 permanent positions once operational. 

The US$2.7bn GDP contribution figure gets thrown around, though without disclosed methodology it’s hard to verify. 

More tangible is Vantage’s US$175m commitment to infrastructure upgrades – water treatment facilities, sewer lines, a new water tower – that’ll benefit Port Washington’s residents as much as the campus.

“The benefits of welcoming data centres to Port Washington are undeniable,” says Ted Neitzke IV, the town’s mayor. 

“Vantage’s once in a generation investment will create thousands of high-paying jobs – including more than 4,000 union-led construction and operational roles – driving long-term economic ripple effects across the region.”

For OpenAI, Wisconsin represents a strategic expansion beyond Texas as part of Stargate, the multi-site infrastructure initiative launched with SoftBank and Oracle in January. 

It’s a calculated move to diversify computing capacity across the US rather than concentrating everything in traditional tech hubs where land and power are increasingly scarce.

“Expanding Stargate to Wisconsin is another major step toward building the infrastructure that will help ensure everyone can benefit from AI,” says Peter Hoeschele, OpenAI’s Vice President of industrial compute. 

“This project will create good jobs, advance zero-emission energy and boost the local economy – all while expanding capacity without raising rates for local consumers.”

Oracle has been racing to catch Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud in the AI infrastructure stakes. 

The partnership with OpenAI gives it credibility in a market where cloud providers are competing ferociously for customers deploying large language models (LLMs).

“We’re pleased to work with Vantage Data Centers as we continue to rapidly expand our cloud capacity to meet the growing demand for AI,” says Mahesh Thiagarajan, Executive Vice President of software development at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. 

“Oracle’s highly performant, secure and cost-effective AI infrastructure is fuelling a new era of innovation that will fortify American leadership in AI worldwide.”