Meta's Wisconsin data center will restore 570 acres of wetlands

Meta is opening its 30th data center in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin — and this one comes with an unusual commitment: restoring nearly 600 acres of degraded wetlands back to life.

The $1 billion facility will power Meta's AI infrastructure once it opens, but the company is also investing heavily in the local ecosystem. In partnership with Ducks Unlimited and other conservation groups, Meta will restore 570 acres of wetlands and prairie surrounding the data center, with 175 acres being permanently transferred to Ducks Unlimited for long-term management. The restored habitat will support thousands of birds, native wildlife, and plant species that have declined as wetlands disappeared across the Midwest.

Local investment meets environmental responsibility

The facility itself is designed with water stewardship at its core. Unlike many data centers that consume enormous quantities of water for cooling, Beaver Dam will use dry-cooling technology — meaning zero water demand once operational. The campus will also restore 100% of any water it does use back to local watersheds through rainwater capture, infiltration systems, and native vegetation landscaping that reduces irrigation needs.

Beyond the environmental footprint, Meta is committing over $1 billion to the region's economic growth. The project will support more than 100 permanent operational jobs and over 1,000 skilled trade workers during peak construction. The company is also investing nearly $200 million in local energy infrastructure — network upgrades, utility substations, transmission lines — work that strengthens the grid for the entire community.

Meta's community investment extends further: $15 million to Alliant Energy's Hometown Care Energy Fund will help families cover home energy costs. Next fall, the company will open applications for Data Center Community Action Grants, funding schools and local organizations to expand STEAM education and technology access. Small businesses will also get free digital skills training to help them adopt AI tools.

The data center itself will run on 100% clean and renewable energy and is designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification. It's the kind of infrastructure investment that's becoming more common as large tech companies face pressure to prove they can grow without depleting the places they operate in — though the Beaver Dam project suggests that growth and restoration aren't necessarily at odds.

Once operational, the facility will join Meta's global fleet of AI-optimized data centers, supporting the company's expanding machine learning workloads while anchoring one of the Midwest's most ambitious wetland restoration efforts in decades.