Dunn County PRD Committee to Hold Follow-Up Meeting on Modular Data Centers

Dunn County residents are advised to monitor ongoing discussions about modular data centers.

The Dunn County Planning, Resources, & Development Committee will hold a public meeting regarding modular data centers on June 18 at 8:30 AM at the Dunn County Government Center. Residents are advised to stay informed, as Chair Mike Kneer has scheduled this as a second consecutive discussion following the initial June 4th meeting. Modular data centers carry the same environmental dangers as traditional facilities but pose unique risks due to their rapid deployment, higher energy density, and mobile nature.

Meeting Agenda Link: 6-18-2026 PRD Meeting Packet.pdf

Big tech is pushing water- and energy-guzzling, environmentally polluting data centers on Wisconsin water-rich rural residents. Modular data centers are the latest fad in Big Tech’s AI data center push on rural communities like Dunn County. Modular data centers enable rapid, scalable deployment but introduce critical risks. Dangers include structural vulnerabilities (moisture trapping, joint corrosion), complex long-term maintenance, hardware obsolescence, uneven power-cooling distribution, and security flaws. Additionally, localized facilities exacerbate grid strain and environmental concerns for nearby communities.

Modular Data Centers, which are refabricated units assembled outdoors, are highly susceptible to trapped moisture. Rain during installation can leak into the structure and remain, leading to accelerated rusting and potential equipment short-circuits.

Transport regulations dictate module sizing, meaning structures may settle or shift unevenly on-site. This can misalign delicate connection points, causing water pathways, gas leaks, and physical stress on structural joints.

Concentrating hardware in smaller spaces makes airflow and cooling extremely challenging. These modules are prone to localized “hot spots” if fans or liquid-cooling loops fail.

The distributed, often unstaffed nature of edge modular data centers makes them prime targets for physical tampering and vandalism.

The surge in data center deployment—particularly for dense AI workloads—strains local utilities. This frequently causes rising utility bills, infrastructure overloads, and brownouts for local communities

Facilities located near residential zones bring relentless, low-frequency hums from HVAC and cooling systems. Furthermore, they rely on diesel backup generators that emit harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

Whether modular data centers are “as harmful as” hyperscale facilities depends on scale. While modular units can be highly efficient for localized AI deployment, combining many of them into a massive multi-megawatt campus can cumulatively match the energy usage, water consumption, and localized pollution of a single hyperscale plant. Source: https://www.environmentalhealthproject.org/post/the-dangers-of-data-centers

More information by contacting your Dunn County Board of Supervisors: https://dunncountywi.gov/supervisors

Rachel Tilseth is a Menomonie, Wisconsin-based environmental writer, filmmaker, and owner of Wolves of Douglas County WI Films & Media. Lead writer at The Red Cedar Watershed Ledger. Her work explores the intricate relationships between humans, wildlife, and local ecosystems.

Based in Menomonie, Wisconsin, in the historic Red Cedar Basin

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