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Michigan Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Michigan — updated daily.
Michigan · Construction & power moves · 5
full tracker →Land, power, and interconnection moves across Michigan — each traced to primary filings.
Recent Michigan data center news
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Whitmer unveils data center plan that calls for legislation, promises from companies
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced a Michigan Affordable and Responsible Growth Action Plan and a voluntary pledge for data center companies, while also calling on the Michigan Legislature to codify data center safeguards into state law.
- The plan would protect residents from higher energy rates and require companies to cover their own costs, create good-paying jobs, and follow state environmental, energy, and water-use regulations.
- Whitmer urged lawmakers to adopt Michigan Public Service Commission safeguards; environmental groups said pledges are not enough and continued to back a temporary moratorium until enforceable protections are enacted, citing risks of natural gas expansion and delays to the state’s 100% clean energy by 2040 goal.
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A Year Later, Trumps OBB Act Caused 468,000 Mostly Green Job Losses, Claims E2 BW Research
E2 and BW Research have released an analysis claiming that Trump-era clean energy policy reversals and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act caused major project cancellations and job losses in the United States.
- The report says 216 abandoned projects led to $68.2 billion in foregone capital investment, $48.4 billion in annual operational spending, and 468,000 lost jobs across construction, manufacturing, supply chain, and induced effects.
- It attributes the fallout to the January 20, 2025 executive order freezing IRA and IIJA disbursements and the OBBA signed on July 4, 2025, and says the lost energy buildout includes about 10 GW solar, 3.75 GW wind, and 9.08 GW battery storage.
- The article is a commentary-style report summary based on E2/BW Research modeling using IMPLAN and NREL JEDI frameworks, and it references project cancellations involving companies such as GM, Ford-CATL, Toyota, VinFast, Honda, Freyr, Kore Power, Natron, Li-Cycle, NorSun, and Ebon Solar.
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Climate Change Solutions - July 14, 2026
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has published a climate and energy newsletter highlighting recent articles, congressional actions, and upcoming briefings.
- Main announcement/action: EESI promotes an online briefing with the Natural Resources Defense Council on Thursday, July 16 at noon about tracking and reducing nitrogen fertilizer use, associated emissions, and lowering costs for farmers.
- Background and other details: The newsletter also references a House vote on the SECURE Grid Act (H.R. 7257), a future briefing on severe drought on July 24, and archived materials on extreme heat, grid resilience, and data centers.
- The issue is presented as a newsletter / event roundup rather than a standalone policy announcement by a company, and it includes EESI contact information at the end.
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Data center news: Warren weighs data center moratorium after storm exposes grid strain
Planet Detroit is rounding up recent data center-related developments in Michigan and New York; the piece is a news roundup/commentary rather than a single original announcement.
- Warren City Council may consider a temporary moratorium on data centers at its July 14 meeting after July 3 storms knocked down 60-plus power lines and exposed strain on the city’s aging electrical grid.
- The roundup also notes that Lansing passed a 182-day moratorium effective July 27 through Jan. 25, 2027, New York issued an executive order pausing hyperscale data center construction for up to a year, and Oakland University advanced an AI data center project into due diligence despite opposition.
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New York becomes first US state to impose data center moratorium
New York has announced a one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers.
- Governor Kathy Hochul signed the order into law, immediately pausing environmental permits for projects of 50MW or more while a regulatory framework is developed.
- The framework will include a Generic Environmental Impact Statement on energy demand, water use and quality, and air quality, and local entities will receive guidance within 60 days on community benefits negotiations; the order also directs consideration of a New York Grid Acceleration Fund.
- The article also references earlier and proposed legislation, including S.9144 introduced by Elizabeth Krueger and a proposed national moratorium, the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, introduced by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in March 2026.
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Lightpath to provide fiber infrastructure for two new hyperscale data center campuses
Lightpath has announced it will provide fiber infrastructure and multi-terabit capacity to support two hyperscale data center campuses under construction in the United States.
- The two campuses are planned to exceed one gigawatt each and are located in Saline, Michigan and Port Washington, Wisconsin.
- The Saline build is scheduled for delivery by the end of this year, while Port Washington is expected in Q2 2027; both are being delivered with an anchor hyperscale customer that was not named.
- Chris Morley said Lightpath is partnering with hyperscalers to build new fiber infrastructure for AI-driven demand; Tim Haverkate said the company will deliver route-diverse, multi-terabit capacity across new construction, existing network assets, and partner fiber.
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US-based BESS companies Peak Energy, ESS Inc and Unigrid aim to commercialise sodium-ion in US, Europe
Peak Energy, ESS Tech Inc, and Unigrid have announced new sodium-ion energy storage manufacturing, product launches, and deployment milestones in the US and Europe.
- Peak Energy selected Sacramento, California for a new Na-ion BESS manufacturing facility announced 8 July, targeting up to 4GWh annually and US$71 million in capital investment.
- The project is expected to create 239 local jobs over 18 months; Peak also cited a US$10.5 million CalCompetes tax credit awarded in May 2026 and earlier phased deals including up to 4.75GWh with Jupiter Power.
- ESS Tech Inc launched the ESS Bridge, a 1.2MWh modular Na-ion BESS for utilities, AI-driven data centres, critical infrastructure operators, and C&I customers; it can scale to 4.8MWh in the same footprint as a traditional 20-foot container.
- Unigrid announced first deliveries of its Na+Casa residential BESS, rated at 9.25kWh, with installations in Europe and US availability expected by end of 2026 pending compliance requirements.
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Can Growing Community Backlash Quiet the AI Data Center Boom?
The article reports that organized opposition to US data center development is growing rapidly as AI infrastructure buildouts accelerate, with new survey and tracking data suggesting community acceptance is becoming a major site-selection factor.
- DataCenterOpposition.com says it now tracks 430 local groups opposing data center projects in more than 40 states, up from 268 in April and about 76 at end-2025; the groups are estimated to represent more than 525,000 members.
- The piece also cites Data Center Watch reporting opponents blocked or delayed at least 75 projects representing roughly $130 billion in Q1 2026; in Virginia, QTS ended its Prince William Digital Gateway pursuit and the Dulles South Innovation Center proposal collapsed after permitting, political, and community opposition.
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Officials in Elk River, Minnesota, deny data center application, consider moratorium
Elk River officials have rejected a zoning amendment for Swervo Development Corp. affiliate Elk River Capital’s proposed 33MW data center and are considering a one-year moratorium on new data centers.
- The Elk River City Council voted against an ordinance amendment for the project at 19178 Industrial Blvd NW, which would have converted an existing 60,000-square-foot industrial building into a 33MW data center in the city’s light industrial zone.
- The council still needs to vote on a conditional use permit, but has indicated it will likely deny it; the planning commission had already recommended denial in June, and city staff were asked to draft a one-year moratorium on new data centers.
- The facility was set to be operated by Irongate Data Centers; Swervo-related projects mentioned in the article include sites in Woodbury and Detroit, plus an Eagan colocation conversion facing a separate moratorium and lawsuit.
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Patented: Topgolf’s Newest Award and More Inventions Across North Texas
Dallas Invents has reported a weekly roundup of patents granted in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, highlighting Topgolf’s new patent among other local assignees and inventors.
- Topgolf International, Inc. received U.S. Patent No. 12649095 for a Galton configuration in golf ball receiving apparatus and systems that uses RFID tags and an antenna reader to identify golf balls while avoiding jams.
- The article is a news roundup/commentary on patent activity, not a first-time corporate announcement; it also lists other grants to entities including Texas Instruments, Toyota, Samsung, Bank of America, Citibank, USAA, Halliburton, and Akamai.