OpenAI, Oracle, and Vantage Data Centers announced plans to develop a data center campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin, outside Milwaukee, as part of the Stargate expansion initiative. The announcement was made on October 22, 2025, from Denver.

The new campus is part of OpenAI and Oracle's previously announced partnership to invest up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional Stargate capacity. It serves as the Midwest site recently announced as part of OpenAI's Stargate expansion. The facility, named Lighthouse, will feature four cutting-edge data centers providing close to a gigawatt of AI capacity.

Construction Timeline and Job Creation

Construction will begin soon and is scheduled for completion in 2028. The project expects to create more than 4,000 skilled construction jobs, with the majority being union jobs. Once complete, Vantage and Oracle will create more than 1,000 long-term jobs and thousands more indirect jobs, many of which will be with women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses.

Environmental Sustainability Features

The Lighthouse campus is designed with comprehensive environmental stewardship measures. Vantage is enabling the development of new zero-emission energy capacity in Wisconsin, including solar, wind, and battery storage, all matched with 100% zero-emission energy. Seventy percent of the energy capacity will be allocated to the Lighthouse campus, while 30% will be made available to all Wisconsin consumers. The remaining energy consumed by the campus will be matched with renewable energy purchases annually.

The campus will implement a water-positive approach, leveraging a closed-loop liquid cooling system that uses minimal water and drives significant energy savings. To minimize its impact on water resources, Vantage is investing in local water restoration projects to achieve water positivity, meaning it restores more water to freshwater sources than the campus consumes.

Vantage is developing 500 of 672 total acres for the four data centers, preserving and enhancing the surrounding natural spaces. This includes planting more than 2,000 native trees and other native landscaping to achieve a net gain in biodiversity, as well as protecting and enhancing existing wetlands and creating an eight-foot planted berm with native species for natural sound mitigation. The company is pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the Lighthouse campus.

Economic Impact and Infrastructure Investment

The campus will deliver an estimated USD 2.7 billion contribution to the regional gross domestic product (GDP). Vantage is investing a minimum of USD 175 million to make critical regional infrastructure upgrades, including expanded capacity for water and wastewater treatment facilities, upgraded water mains and sewer lines, a new water tower, and power infrastructure that will benefit both the Lighthouse campus and the needs of Port Washington.

Vantage is underwriting 100% of the power infrastructure investment with a dedicated electricity rate from WEC Energy Group utility We Energies. This proposed rate is designed to protect other customers from any price increases from the new investments to serve Lighthouse.

Industry Leadership Perspectives

Peter Hoeschele, OpenAI's vice president of industrial compute, stated that expanding Stargate to Wisconsin represents “another major step toward building the infrastructure that will help ensure everyone can benefit from AI.” He emphasized that the project will create good jobs, advance zero-emission energy, and boost the local economy while expanding capacity without raising rates for local consumers.

Mahesh Thiagarajan, executive vice president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, expressed satisfaction with working alongside Vantage Data Centers to expand cloud capacity to meet growing AI demand rapidly. He noted that Oracle's AI infrastructure is “fueling a new era of innovation that will fortify American leadership in AI worldwide.”

Dana Adams, president of North America for Vantage Data Centers, highlighted that as demand for data centers expands beyond traditional hubs, the upper Midwest has become a critical and strategic market. Adams emphasized Vantage's commitment to being a good neighbor by prioritizing sustainable energy investment, minimizing local impact, and partnering closely with the community to serve as an economic driver for the state.

Local Government and Community Response

Mayor Ted Neitzke IV of Port Washington described the benefits of welcoming data centers as “undeniable,” calling Vantage's investment “once in a generation”. He noted that the investment will create thousands of high-paying jobs, including more than 4,000 union-led construction and operational roles, driving long-term economic ripple effects across the region. The mayor stated this investment allows the city to strengthen public services and community development further, enhancing quality of life for residents.

Rebecca Gries, executive director of the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development organization, characterized Vantage's investment as“transformative” and “far more than a single project”. She described it as a catalyst for regional transformation that will strengthen the area's position as a premier destination for innovation, talent, and growth. This will create opportunities extending from small businesses and manufacturers to housing and community development across all seven counties.

Scott Lauber, president and CEO of WEC Energy Group, explained that working with Vantage delivers new clean energy for the Lighthouse campus while generating lasting benefits for Wisconsin. Together with Vantage, they are adding nearly two gigawatts of new energy to the grid, with 30% dedicated to existing homes, farms, and other businesses. This strategy delivers growth without raising rates for other customers.

This campus, in collaboration with other Stargate campuses and Oracle, can deliver over 4.5 gigawatts of IT capacity. Together with Frontier, a Texas campus in Shackelford County, Vantage is investing more than USD 40 billion in critical digital infrastructure. Vantage's largest investors in its North America platform are DigitalBridge Group, Inc., and Silver Lake.

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