Oracle announced on October 2 that it will subscribe to a portion of the electricity generated by the Point Beach nuclear plant and absorb the associated cost itself, a move the company says is expected to save Wisconsin utility customers approximately $300 million in fuel costs, according to the press release. Oracle said the commitment is designed to protect more than 1 million utility customers in the state from rising energy expenses.
The commitment is linked to Oracle's Project Lighthouse data center development in Port Washington, Wisconsin, which the company says is expected to generate an $11 billion economic impact. Oracle said it will fully fund Project Lighthouse's own energy costs so that the facility does not add to ratepayers' bills, and that the project is expected to support more than 4,000 skilled construction jobs over three years along with about 1,000 ongoing operations positions once running, plus workforce development programs and local infrastructure investment.
"By absorbing approximately $300 million in rising energy costs, we are helping protect Wisconsin ratepayers while supporting the reliable, carbon-free power the state depends on," said Mahesh Thiagarajan, executive vice president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, in the release. Oracle noted the commitment remains subject to approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
The announcement comes as data center power costs have been a flashpoint in Wisconsin, where regulators and residents have scrutinized who should bear the cost of new generation and transmission infrastructure built to serve large AI data center projects.