QTS Dane County Hyperscale Campus (DeForest)

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. January 28, 2026

   Cancelled
   Village of DeForest declared the proposal not feasible; QTS withdrew all applications after the Village Board signaled a 7-0 rejection of annexation. WI DOA separately found the annexation not in the public interest. Source: Data Center Dynamics
2. October 30, 2025

   Proposed
   QTS publicly announced the Dane County hyperscale campus; zoning and annexation applications submitted to DeForest in November 2025 Source: QTS Data Centers

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Organized local opposition to QTS Dane County Hyperscale Campus (DeForest) in DeForest, Dane County, Wisconsin is documented in the public record, without a lawsuit on file in the sources we track. The group 'No Data Center in DeForest' had 4,100+ members at withdrawal; the Village Board signaled a unanimous 7-0 denial of the annexation petition, citing transparency and watershed/land-use concerns.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: opposed means documented, organized local opposition is the dominant signal on record.

The group 'No Data Center in DeForest' had 4,100+ members at withdrawal; the Village Board signaled a unanimous 7-0 denial of the annexation petition, citing transparency and watershed/land-use concerns. Opposition led directly to cancellation.

Power and water

Alliant Energy confirmed as utility. QTS proposed enabling ~750 MW of new renewables on Alliant's grid via RECs - a grid-level commitment, not the facility's power draw. Facility IT load never disclosed.

QTS stated the campus would use water-free cooling with no cooling-water consumption or impact on the Yahara Watershed.

Notes on the record

CANCELLED: QTS withdrew Jan 28-29 2026 after DeForest found the proposal not feasible and the Village Board signaled a 7-0 rejection of the required annexation; WI DOA found the 1,572.5-acre annexation petition not in the public interest. Active footprint was 650 acres (five buildings). Capacity omitted: no source discloses facility IT load; the 750 MW figure was a grid renewable-energy-credit commitment via Alliant, not the campus draw. INVESTMENT OMITTED: the $12B figure is secondary press only (QTS said 'multibillion-dollar') and unrealized. Projected 5,000+ construction and 'hundreds' of permanent jobs were never realized (project cancelled). The $50M community commitment was a QTS-to-county pledge, not a government subsidy. Coordinates are the DeForest centroid.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

• Lumen Madison 1 · Madison · Lumen Technologies12 mi · Operating
• EdgeConneX Madison (MAD01) · Madison · EdgeConneX14 mi · Operating
• US Signal WI02 Madison (Fitchburg) · Fitchburg · US Signal18 mi · Operating · 6 MW
• Epic Hosting Verona Data Center · Verona · Epic Hosting, LLC (Epic Systems)21 mi · Permitted
• Stonebridge Pacific AI Data Center (Columbia County) · Pacific · Stonebridge21 mi · Cancelled
• Meta Beaver Dam Data Center Campus · Beaver Dam · Meta29 mi · Under construction · 220 MW · Mixed reception
• Oppidan Beaver Dam Edge Data Center · Beaver Dam · Oppidan Investment Company29 mi · Permitted

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