The Metro: Big Tech eyes Michigan, but at what cost for residents?
As billion dollar data centers move into Michigan, communities are wrestling with who benefits, who pays, and the environmental impacts.
Michigan is courting billion-dollar AI data centers—but residents worry about energy bills, water use, and climate impacts.
Michigan is racing toward the data center boom that powers artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Lawmakers have approved generous tax breaks, and utilities are courting multi-billion-dollar projects, including a proposed $7 billion “hyperscale” campus in rural Saline Township, backed by tech giants OpenAI and Oracle.
Supporters promise investment and new tax revenue. But critics warn that these vast, windowless buildings could come with higher electric bills, heavy demands on local water supplies, and pressure to keep fossil fuel plants running long past Michigan’s clean energy deadlines.
So who really pays for Michigan’s data-center gold rush, and who gets to decide?
Brian Allnutt, a senior reporter and contributing editor at Planet Detroit, has been following Michigan’s data center deals from the state capitol to township board meetings and courtroom settlements. He joined Robyn Vincent to help make sense of the choices Michigan faces.
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