This Wisconsin mom fought back against proposed data center construction in her neighborhood—and won

Jayne Black of De Pere explains how she transformed her outrage into activism, and how other Wisconsinites can do it, too. 

Jayne Black remembers exactly how she felt after learning that data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure was planning a new hyperscale AI data center in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, a village less than 12 miles from her home.

“It was like I was hit with a ton of bricks,” Black said. 

News of the proposed project began circulating earlier this year, when Cloverleaf approached several Greenleaf residents about selling their properties for data center development.  Black quickly sprang into action. She created a Facebook group and shared it with friends and neighbors who worried about how data center construction would affect nearby farmland and residential areas. In under two days, the group expanded beyond Greenleaf—more than 2,000 people from across northeastern Wisconsin joined. 

Black said the Facebook group became a hub for Wisconsinites to share information about the proposed project and discuss solutions. She encouraged members to contact the Village of Greenleaf Board and communicate their concerns directly. 

As a field organizer for anti-pollution advocacy group Moms Clean Air Force, Black also posted resources to educate her neighbors about the impacts of data centers on air quality, including how fossil fuels are used to power them. 

As word spread about the Facebook group, members even organized an in-person informational meeting where they learned how to make effective public comments at the next village meeting. 

Their persistence paid off. Community pushback and pressure led Cloverleaf to cancel the data center project in late January. But while Black agrees the scrapped plans are worth celebrating, she says the work to keep data centers out of Wisconsin is far from over. 

“We’re taking it a step further to make sure that if someone tries to come in again, that we don’t end up at a public hearing having to say the same thing. The battle that we’re having now is trying to get proper zoning put in place, or a moratorium,” Black said. 

Black hopes that the work she’s doing in her community will help increase transparency and overall trust between Wisconsinites and elected leaders.

For example, when lawmakers talk about how data center construction will bring jobs to their communities, Black hopes they will give Wisconsinites the full picture instead of repeating talking points from data center developers. 

“When they talk about job creation—that [data centers] will bring hundreds of jobs at a time for these construction workers—that’s not forever. Those are going to go away, and then those workers are displaced, so to speak,” Black said, adding that data centers don’t require many on-site employees for daily operations after construction.

When these communities do speak with local lawmakers, Black says they are met with repetitive jargon from Big Tech companies. 

“We don’t live in a day and age where it’s ‘pinky swear, trust me’—no one does business like that. That is not what leadership is about. It’s not about trust, it’s about respect. It’s about listening,” Black said.

Related: 3 ways Wisconsinites can get involved as data centers try to creep into their communities