Updated 4th November 2025 – The construction team for the US$15 billion data center in Wisconsin has been announced. It will consist of Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The Weitz Co., a joint venture between Turner Construction and McCarthy Building Companies, and Michels.
The project is being developed in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and Denver-based Vantage Data Centers, a leading provider of hyperscale data center campuses. Located west of Interstate 43 in Port Washington, near Milwaukee, the massive development is set to surpass the scale of Microsoft’s US$3.3 billion, 315-acre data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.
The first phase of the project, known as Lighthouse, will consist of four data center buildings spread across 672 acres of the 1,900-acre site. This phase, valued at approximately US$8 billion, will feature facilities utilizing a total of 1.3 gigawatts of power. Supporting infrastructure will include up to 200 parking stalls, generators, transformers, utility buildings, and dry coolers.
Updated 23rd October 2023 – OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers will build a hyperscale data center campus called Lighthouse outside Milwaukee in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The site is a Midwest node of OpenAI and Oracle’s Stargate expansion and will supply almost one gigawatt of AI IT capacity as the partners scale toward an additional 4.5 GW of Stargate capacity nationwide. Vantage estimates the Lighthouse development will cost $15 billion.
A major build with local economic promises
Vantage will develop four data centers across a 672-acre property, putting roughly 500 acres into active development and preserving the rest for natural mitigation. Construction will start soon and Vantage targets completion in 2028. The build phase will create more than 4,000 skilled construction jobs, mostly union roles; when the campus opens Vantage and Oracle expect over 1,000 permanent jobs plus thousands of indirect positions, many of which will go to women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
Vantage projects Lighthouse will add about $2.7 billion to the regional GDP. The company will invest at least $175 million in local infrastructure upgrades — expanded water and wastewater capacity, upgraded mains and sewer lines, a new water tower and power system upgrades — intended to serve both the campus and Port Washington residents. To prevent rate shocks for other customers, Vantage is underwriting the required power-infrastructure work and has proposed a dedicated electricity rate with WEC Energy Group’s We Energies designed to shield other ratepayers from any price increases tied to these investments.
Energy, water and biodiversity commitments
Vantage says Lighthouse will operate on 100% matched zero-emission energy, enabled by new Wisconsin solar, wind and battery projects. Seventy percent of the new clean capacity will serve Lighthouse directly; 30% will be made available to Wisconsin homes and businesses. In its announcement WEC Energy Group said the partnership will add nearly two gigawatts of new energy to the grid, with 30% dedicated for local customers — a strategy the utility framed as enabling growth without raising rates for existing customers. Any campus energy not covered by those new resources will be matched through annual renewable purchases.
The campus will use closed-loop liquid cooling to minimize water use and drive energy efficiency. Vantage will fund local water restoration programs intended to make the project water positive — returning more freshwater than Lighthouse consumes. On habitat, the developer will plant more than 2,000 native trees, protect and enhance existing wetlands, create an eight-foot planted berm for sound mitigation, and aim for biodiversity net gain. Vantage also intends to pursue LEED certification for the campus.
Strategic context and partners
Lighthouse joins other Stargate campuses being developed with Oracle and OpenAI and contributes to the partners’ stated goal of expanding AI infrastructure across multiple U.S. regions. Vantage highlighted its broader North America program — including the Frontier campus in Shackelford County, Texas — and notes it is investing over $40 billion across its North America platform. The company’s largest investors in that platform include DigitalBridge Group, Inc. and Silver Lake.
On September 23, 2025, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank launched five new AI data center sites under the Stargate initiative, bringing the program’s total investment to $400 billion and expanding its planned capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts.
Project Factsheet — Lighthouse (Port Washington, Wisconsin)
Name: Lighthouse
Developers: Vantage Data Centers; OpenAI; Oracle (Stargate program)
Location: Port Washington, Wisconsin (outside Milwaukee)
Site area: 672 acres (500 acres to be developed for data centers)
Buildings: 4 hyperscale data centers
Capacity: Close to 1.0 GW of AI capacity
Stargate program target: Up to 4.5 GW additional across sites (OpenAI–Oracle)
Total project cost: $15 billion
Timeline: Construction begins soon; scheduled completion 2028
Jobs
4,000 construction jobs — the majority will be union positions.
Over 1,000 permanent jobs once the campus becomes operational.
Thousands of indirect jobs supported across the region.
Many contracts expected to go to women-, minority-, and veteran-owned businesses.
Economic impact
Estimated $2.7 billion regional GDP contribution
Infrastructure investment: Minimum $175 million (water, wastewater, mains, water tower, power)
Energy Plan
Vantage will power the campus with 100% zero-emission energy.
The company will allocate 70% of new clean energy capacity to the Lighthouse campus and 30% to Wisconsin consumers.
WEC Energy Group will add nearly 2 GW of new energy to the state’s grid.
Vantage will match any remaining power use each year with renewable energy purchases.
Water strategy: Closed-loop liquid cooling; investments in local water restoration to achieve water positivity
Biodiversity: 2,000 native trees; wetlands protection & enhancement; eight-foot planted berm; biodiversity net-gain goals
Sustainability target: Pursuing LEED certification
Power partner: WEC Energy Group / We Energies; dedicated electricity rate proposed to protect other customers from rate impacts
Related Vantage activity: Frontier campus (Shackelford County, TX); Vantage cites >$40B North America investment; major investors include DigitalBridge and Silver Lake
