Data centers and new power in Portage County, WI
1.7 GW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Portage County, WI — 6 active requests. Typical wait: 4.2 years. 2 projects are built, 8 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Is one near your house?
We have not mapped a large AI data center inside Portage County itself — but we track the biggest ones nationally, and requests to connect new power here are on the public record.
What is happening with electricity in Portage County
Every new power plant, battery or big customer has to join a waiting list before it can plug into the grid. This is what that list looks like in Portage County right now.
Where every request ever filed here ended up
Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on. That is normal, not a warning sign for Portage County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
16 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by MISO. Parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Data as of 14 October 2026. A queued project is a request, not a commitment.
Outcome of every request filed here
| Outcome | Projects | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built | 2 | 398 MW | 12.5% |
| Still waiting | 6 | 1.7 GW | 37.5% |
| Withdrawn | 8 | 925 MW | 50.0% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 5 | 1.4 GW |
| Natural gas | 1 | 350 MW |
Key dates for projects here
1 dated · next closes 2027-09-10 (MISO)
| Queue | What closes | Closes | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| MISO | MISO DPP-2026 Definitive Planning Phase application deadline Attachment X of the tariff and BPM-015. | 2027-09-10 | confirmed source |
| FERC | FERC large-load show cause — stakeholder comments on RTO responses Comments on the six RTO/ISO responses to the FPA section 206 show-cause orders of 18 June 2026 (PJM EL26-67, SPP EL26-68, NYISO EL26-69, MISO EL26-70… | No date published yet | unconfirmed source |
| FERC | FERC RM26-4 — generic large-load rulemaking Still at ANOPR stage. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
| FERC | Georgia PSC - Georgia Power must file large-load contracts 30 days before execution A standing obligation rather than a dated one: large-load contracts must be filed with the commission at least 30 days before they are executed. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
A date marked confirmed was checked by a person against the authority's own tariff, order or form page. Anything else is listed so you know it exists, with a link so you can check it yourself. Full calendar.
The biggest projects on file
top 15 by size
| Project | Type | Capacity | Status | Filed | Queue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Run to Werner West 345 kV | Solar | 399 MW | active | 2022-06 | MISO |
| Rocky Run to Werner West 345 kV line | Solar | 399 MW | active | 2022-06 | MISO |
| Rocky Run to Werner West 345 kV line | Solar | 399 MW | active | 2022-06 | MISO |
| Rocky Run - Gardner Park 345.0kV | Natural gas | 350 MW | active | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Plover | Solar | 250 MW | completed | 2020-06 | MISO |
| Plover 115 kV Substation (J1573 substation) | Solar | 200 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Werner West - Rocky Run 345kV | Solar | 160 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Werner West - Rocky Run 345kV | Solar | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2021-11 | MISO |
| Werner West - Rocky Run 345kV | Solar | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2021-11 | MISO |
| Plover | Solar | 150 MW | active | 2026-07 | MISO |
| Golden Sands - Arnott (O-119) | Solar | 148 MW | completed | 2022-05 | MISO |
| Werner West - Rocky Run 345kV | Solar | 115 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Werner West - Rocky Run 345kV | Solar | 75 MW | withdrawn | 2021-11 | MISO |
| Werner West - Rocky Run 345kV | Solar | 75 MW | withdrawn | 2021-11 | MISO |
| Arnott - Golden Sands 138.0kV | Solar | 50 MW | active | 2025-10 | MISO |
How Portage County compares
#223 in the US · #2 in WI
Portage County ranks #223 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #2 of 18 in Wisconsin.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Kenosha County | 6 | 1.9 GW |
| Walworth County | 4 | 1.6 GW |
| Dane County | 3 | 1.3 GW |
| Columbia County | 6 | 1.3 GW |
| Fond du Lac County | 2 | 625 MW |
| Rock County | 5 | 510 MW |
| Waushara County | 4 | 330 MW |
| Barron County | 3 | 295 MW |
Common questions about power in Portage County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Portage County, WI?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Portage County is 4.2 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 2 projects in Portage County have reached energization and 8 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.
How much capacity is available in Portage County, WI?
1.7 GW is currently requested across 6 active interconnection requests, and 398 MW has actually been built. A queued megawatt is a request, not deliverable capacity — most queued projects are never built. For deliverable offtake capacity at a specific substation you need a utility study, not a queue.
Is Portage County, WI a good site for a data center?
This page gives you the power half of that answer: what is queued, what has been energized, how long the wait runs, and which large load interconnection requests are already recorded nearby. The other half — the state policy position, moratoriums and large load tariffs — is on our Wisconsin policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Portage County — MISO — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Portage County
The interactive map plots every one of these applications, and a generated county report puts them in a sourced PDF with the date each figure was true on every page.
Open Portage County on the map County reports All of Wisconsin