Residents of a small Wisconsin town overwhelmingly voted against the building of a massive $15 billion AI data center.

The referendum is the first of its kind in the country and might provide a strategy for others worried about the impact data centers might have in their communities.

The referendum in Wisconsin won’t stop plans for the center that is set to be built on Port Washington’s north side, but it is meant as a check for any future, similar project, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The center is being built for Oracle, OpenAI, and Vantage.

The referendum was a response to the decision of Port Washington city officials to approve a $458 million tax increment financing district to support the project in November 2025 despite the opposition of residents, the outlet added.

The referendum, which was approved by a 2-to-1 margin Tuesday, states that any future financing district larger than $10 million will need voter approval.

“Tonight, democracy worked the way it’s supposed to,” Christine Le Jeune, spokesperson of the group behind the referendum, told the site. “The people deserve a seat at the table when their tax dollars are on the line.”

The referendum will likely face a court challenge from business interests in the state who say it sets a dangerous precedent.

Critics of the data centers say they use millions of gallons of fresh water to satisfy their cooling needs, as well as a tremendous amount of energy. Data centers have drawn concern from communities throughout the Midwest as large tech companies seek to build the infrastructure needed to power AI development.

Microsoft recently hosted an open house for residents in rural Kent County, Michigan, as the company’s plans there have faced mounting opposition from local residents, MLive reported.

At the meeting, Microsoft presented information about the closed-loop water system and how the company would pay its own way when it came to energy usage. The company also said that the center could be used for cloud computing or AI while generating hundreds of jobs. Residents, however, remained skeptical.

“I feel like this is a manipulation of people’s time,” resident Tracy Johnson told MLive. “This is another tactic for them to get what they want. They’ve got all the money, and whoever has the money wins.”

Meanwhile in Ohio, rural farmers have proposed a constitutional amendment to the state constitution. The amendment would stop the construction of data centers that consume more than 25 megawatts of electricity per month, Farm Progress reported.

The website reported that data centers already are consuming 4 percent of the nation’s energy and that is expected to rise to 9 percent by 2030. Farm Progress reported that Ohio already has 200 data centers, and farmers say the result has been higher rural energy prices.