# Grant County, Wisconsin: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Platteville, Lancaster and Boscobel

Grant County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Grant County is home to Platteville, Lancaster, Boscobel and Fennimore. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers through June 18, 2027”. Construction employs 900, up 26.4% since 2019. 67 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Invenergy Services LLC (wind). Electrical contractors employ 149, up 34.2% since 2019 against up 21.6% statewide, at an average $71,709 a year.

67 MW
of new generation planned here, wind leading

+34.2%
electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 149

453 MW
of operating power plants, mostly solar

## Cities and towns in Grant County

Grant County is home to Platteville, Lancaster, Boscobel and Fennimore.

Platteville11,815 residents
Lancaster4,031 residents
Boscobel3,250 residents
Fennimore2,775 residents
Jamestown2,305 residents
Cuba City1,846 residents · 88% of the city
Muscoda1,247 residents · 96% of the city
Hazel Green1,151 residents
Dickeyville1,085 residents
South Lancaster864 residents
Smelser793 residents
Lima777 residents
Cassville758 residents
Bloomington754 residents
Beetown736 residents
Paris668 residents
Montfort656 residents · 89% of the city
Marion650 residents
Potosi649 residents
Livingston624 residents
Hickory Grove615 residents
Ellenboro604 residents
Waterloo570 residents
North Lancaster566 residents

And 16 smaller places.
- Cuba City also extends into [Lafayette County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/lafayette-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Glen Haven, Kieler, Sandy Hook.

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Grant County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 51,989 | 52,446 | ▲ 0.9% | 28th of 72 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 17,905 | 17,152 | ▼ 4.2% | 56th of 72 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,329 | $49,231 | ▲ 28.4% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 712 | 900 | ▲ 26.4% | 19th of 61 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 111 | 149 | ▲ 34.2% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.1% | 3.2% | ▲ 0.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 445 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 67 MW | 15% of today's fleet | 11th of 17 by size |

445 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 453 MW of capacity, 56% of it solar. Employers here counted 17,152 jobs in 2025, down 4.2% from 2019. Wisconsin Electric Power Co is the largest utility serving Grant County, one of 8 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 19.23¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.25¢ median for Wisconsin utilities. Unemployment was 3.2% in August 2026, against 3.1% in 2019. 52,446 people live here, up 0.9% since 2020.

## Who powers Grant County

### Utilities with service territory in Grant County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Electric Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,048,148 | 19.23¢ | 38% |
| Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 437,211 | 16.89¢ | 22% |
| Scenic Rivers Energy Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 13,597 | 15.23¢ | 1% |
| City of Boscobel - (WI) | Municipal | Bundled | 1,448 | 10.65¢ | 62% |
| City of Cuba City | Municipal | Bundled | 985 | 11.41¢ | 56% |
| Village of Muscoda - (WI) | Municipal | Bundled | 938 | 10.92¢ | 16% |
| City of Fennimore - (WI) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Village of Hazel Green - (WI) | — | — | — | — | — |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 254 MW | 56% |
| Battery storage | 100 MW | 22% |
| Wind | 92 MW | 20% |
| Petroleum | 7 MW | 2% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County | Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Battery storage | 300 MW | 2024 |
| Red Barn Energy | Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Wind | 92 MW | 2023 |
| Cassville Solar | Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Solar | 50 MW | 2023 |
| Fennimore | City of Fennimore - (WI) | Petroleum | 7 MW | 1952 |
| Fennimore Solar | Green Street Power Partners | Solar | 3 MW | 2019 |
| Mt. Hope DPC Solar | SoCore Energy LLC | Solar | 1 MW | 2017 |

### Planned generation 

| Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitetail Wind Farm | Onshore Wind Turbine | 67 MW | Approvals received | 2027 | Invenergy Services LLC |

## The Grant County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 17,152 | $49,231 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 900 | $62,257 | 0.99 |
| Electrical contractors | 149 | $71,709 | 1.20 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Grant County

### Local measures 

| Measure | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| County moratorium on data centers through June 18, 2027 | In force | 2026-01 |

## Grant County and its neighbors

Of the 7 counties that border Grant County, Iowa County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County | 52,446 | ▼ 4.2% | 453 MW | 67 MW | — | 1 |
| Clayton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/clayton-county) IA | 16,845 | ▼ 8.5% | 6 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Crawford County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/crawford-county) | 15,910 | ▼ 9.4% | — | — | — | — |
| Dubuque County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/iowa/dubuque-county) IA | 99,381 | ▼ 2.0% | 27 MW | — | 1 | 1 |
| Iowa County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/iowa-county) | 23,951 | ▲ 3.4% | 330 MW | — | — | — |
| Jo Daviess County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/jo-daviess-county) IL | 21,594 | ▲ 5.3% | 9 MW | — | — | — |
| Lafayette County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/lafayette-county) | 17,478 | ▲ 13.8% | 100 MW | — | — | — |
| Richland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/richland-county) | 17,036 | ▲ 0.2% | 56 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Wisconsin

[All Wisconsin countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin)[Iowa County23,951 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/iowa-county)[Lafayette County17,478 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/lafayette-county)[Richland County17,036 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/richland-county)[Crawford County15,910 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/crawford-county)

## Grant County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Grant County, Wisconsin?

8 utilities have service territory in Grant County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Wisconsin Electric Power Co, Wisconsin Power & Light Co, Scenic Rivers Energy Coop, City of Boscobel - (WI). The largest, Wisconsin Electric Power Co, charged residential customers 19.23¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What county is Platteville, WI in?

Platteville is in Grant County, Wisconsin. About 11,815 people live there (2025 Census estimate).

### What power plants are in Grant County?

6 operating plants with 453 MW of capacity. The largest is Grant County (300 MW, battery storage).

### How much new power is planned in Grant County?

67 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Invenergy Services LLC.

### Are there data centers in Grant County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Grant County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Dubuque County.

### Is Grant County adding jobs?

Employers counted 17,152 jobs in 2025 against 17,905 in 2019 (-4.2%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 712 to 900.

### Does Grant County have a data center moratorium?

The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Grant County, 1 in force.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/grant-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).