The Madison City Commission gave the green light on an incentive program for data centers during its regular meeting on Nov. 17, but its financial update had city leaders expressing caution for the future.

Data centers, which use extraordinary amounts of energy, host the physical equipment necessary for many tasks key to the digital ecosystem. This includes data centers for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. City Administrator Jameson Berreth explained that the agreement with Heartland Energy is one to provide incentive rates to encourage data centers, specifically those involved in cryptocurrency, to build in Madison. The normal industrial rates for electricity are not attractive to those businesses, he added. ×

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