mea v. wisconsin psc -- meta data center energy secrecy

case overview

Case	Midwest Environmental Advocates v. PSC of Wisconsin
Court	Dane County Circuit Court, Wisconsin
Filed	December 9, 2025
Parties	MEA (plaintiff) v. Wisconsin PSC; Alliant Energy/Meta as interested parties
Status	Decided at trial court — records release ordered (August 17, 2026); appeal status unconfirmed

background

the wisconsin psc denied a public records request for unredacted documents showing projected energy demand for meta’s data center in beaver dam, claiming trade secrets. mea argues the psc “arbitrarily and capriciously” denied the request because electrical load projections are not trade secrets under wisconsin law.

notably, the psc released similar records for a port washington data center (we energies/vantage/openai/oracle, showing 1,300 mw) but not for meta’s facility. advocates argue the energy needed to power just two hyperscale data centers in wisconsin is estimated to exceed the combined household electricity demand of the entire state.

significance

this case tests the boundary between corporate trade secrets and public interest in understanding data center energy impacts. as data center electricity demand rivals or exceeds residential demand in some states, public access to load projections becomes a critical policy question.

disposition

judge stephen ehlke of the dane county circuit court ruled that the wisconsin psc acted unlawfully in denying the records request, rejected the trade-secret justification, and ordered release of the load-demand records for meta’s beaver dam data center. reported august 17, 2026.

whether the psc, alliant, or meta has appealed is unconfirmed — this needs a docket check before the page asserts the matter is finally closed.

sources

last updated: august 24, 2026 — docket posture last checked august 24, 2026