Michigan Data Center News

Jun 24, 2026

Construction employment rises in 30 states over past year, AGC reports

The Associated General Contractors of America reported that construction employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia between May 2025 and May 2026.

Main announcement: AGC reported state construction employment increased in 30 states and D.C. between May 2025 and May 2026; Texas added 18,700 jobs (2.1%), North Carolina added 13,600, Wisconsin added 9,000, and Wisconsin posted the largest percentage increase (6.2%); California recorded the largest annual decline at 13,100 jobs (−1.5%).
Monthly detail and risks: From April to May, construction employment increased in 23 states and D.C., declined in 22 states, and was unchanged in 5 states; monthly leaders included Texas (+3,600) and Wisconsin (+2,900). AGC officials Ken Simonson and Jeffrey D. Shoaf cautioned that opposition to data center projects and uncertainty over federal transportation funding pose threats to future construction job growth.

Jun 23, 2026

‘Slap in the face’: Whitmer data center outrage indicates major election year issue

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared at the June 1 groundbreaking for Oracle and OpenAI’s 1.4-gigawatt Saline Township data center, drawing widespread criticism from progressives and local residents.

Main announcement/action: Whitmer publicly supported the Saline Township project at the June 1 groundbreaking; the governor’s press release said the project will bring “billions of dollars to the state, create jobs and energy savings for residents, and protect air, land, and water”. DTE Energy contracts tied to the project include a roughly 19-year power supply agreement with a customer option to extend another 20 years, and a 15-year energy storage agreement (conditional approvals include cost-allocation and rate-design requirements).
Background and other concrete details: The Saline Township board previously voted against rezoning then later agreed to a settlement after litigation; Township officials have reported intense local opposition including threats and resignations. Public and political responses include >70% U.S. opposition in a May poll (Heatmap), congressional and state-level scrutiny (Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s husband is tied to the developer), and a scheduled Michigan Public Service Commission meeting on July 16, 2026 related to utility regulation and public comment.

Jun 23, 2026

Budget Decisions Don’t Address Core Data Center Issues

The Piedmont Environmental Council announced that Virginia’s General Assembly and the governor are continuing a $2-billion-per-year tax exemption for data centers while proposing an “electricity use tax” equal to one-third of that exemption.

Main announcement/action: The PEC criticizes the continuation of a $2-billion-per-year tax exemption for data centers and highlights a proposed “electricity use tax” that is one-third of that exemption; the PEC calls for the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to assign data center infrastructure costs to data centers rather than ratepayers.
Background and other details: The statement notes the budget compromise does not direct allocation of costs for more than 200 substations and thousands of miles of transmission lines tied to data center demand; PEC President Chris Miller urges SCC action and references other states (Michigan, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont) that have proposed moratorium legislation on data center growth.

Jun 22, 2026

NAIRR Science Program Reshapes Scientific Research, Powered by NVIDIA AI Infrastructure

NVIDIA announced its contribution to the NAIRR pilot, providing dedicated NVIDIA DGX access and technical support to researchers.

Main announcement: NVIDIA provided researchers in the NAIRR pilot with a cloud-based resource guaranteeing a minimum of four NVIDIA DGX nodes for at least a month plus technical onboarding and support; the NAIRR pilot has supported over 700 projects across the past two years. The University of Michigan team used a 40-GPU NVIDIA DGX cluster (from a NAIRR allocation) and an additional 200,000 NVIDIA GPU hours on ALCF’s Polaris for MIST model development.
Background and project details: NAIRR-enabled projects highlighted include Polymathic AI’s Walrus foundation model (dataset, code and pretrained weights made public) for fluidlike simulations, University of Michigan’s MIST molecular models for energy storage fused with LLMs, and Boston University’s BEACON LLM pipeline for infectious disease detection (processing HealthMap, news, social media and other signals). The announcement summarizes implementation over the past two years and documents concrete compute allocations and public releases.

Jun 17, 2026

Google data center in Van Buren Township would destroy 13 acres of wetlands

Michigan regulators are reviewing a wetland permit for Panattoni and Google’s planned 1-gigawatt “Project Cannoli” data center in Van Buren Township that would permanently destroy 13.55 acres of wetlands.

Project details and mitigation: The 282-acre project site would permanently impact 13.55 acres of wetlands, require six culverts, fill and abandon 573 linear feet of stream, and the developer proposed purchasing 20.6 acres of wetland mitigation bank credits in the Huron River watershed and creating 1,174 feet of new stream channel on-site; public comment on the wetland permit is open until June 26 (comments accepted via EGLE public notice site or email to jonesj71@michigan.gov).
Regulatory and background context: The project (developer: Panattoni Development Co) has preliminary approvals for a substation and needs soil erosion and utility installation approvals from the Wayne County Department of Public Services; the EPA will review under Section 404 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will evaluate impacts to federally protected species. Panattoni evaluated seven brownfield sites (including McLouth Steel, the former Ford Wixom plant, and the Packard site) but said mission-critical schedule inflexibility prevents relocating to a brownfield, while local advocates urged denial given Wayne County has lost ~90% of its wetlands.

Jun 15, 2026

Guide: The future of Michigan’s clean energy law

State Rep. Pauline Wendzel (R-39th District) has sponsored the “Project Lighthouse” legislative package seeking to repeal Michigan’s 2023 Clean Energy and Jobs Act.

Project Lighthouse would repeal the state’s 100% renewable electricity by 2040 requirement from the 2023 Clean Energy and Jobs Act; the package passed the state House but is reported as unlikely to pass the Senate. The proposed repeal would also void recent MPSC-approved rate hikes for DTE and Consumers and, according to analyses by 5 Lakes Energy and Evergreen Action, would increase residential utility bills in the long term.
DTE Energy and Consumers Energy will submit integrated resource plans (IRPs) in 2026, the first MPSC evaluation under the new law; the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) will review those IRPs. Key meeting: July 16, 2026 Commission Meeting — Jul 16, 1:00 PM — Michigan Public Service Commission, 7109 W. Saginaw Highway, Lansing. Ben Poulson (Michigan League of Conservation Voters) and other advocates emphasize the MPSC’s role in holding utilities accountable, and note data center regulation and the IRP reviews as major tests of enforcement.

Jun 12, 2026

Panasonic to convert Kansas EV battery factory for data centre applications

Panasonic has announced plans to repurpose its Kansas EV battery cell plant to produce batteries for data centre applications beginning Q3 2029.

Main announcement: Panasonic will convert its Kansas (De Soto) EV battery factory to produce batteries for data centre applications, starting Q3 2029; it also intends to repurpose EV battery production lines in Japan and expand module plants in Mexico for data-centre BESS. Panasonic will allocate JP¥350 billion (US$2.18 billion) to its Energy division as part of a broader US$3.12 billion investment in AI infrastructure across fiscal years 2026–2028. The Kansas factory opened on 14 July 2025 and Panasonic noted a planned ~32GWh annual production capacity there (Nevada + Kansas ~73GWh combined).
Background and related details: The move follows slower-than-expected EV adoption and FEOC / OBBBA restrictions; other industry actions cited include Ultium Cells repurposing its Tennessee facility to LFP ESS cells, LG ES converting Michigan EV lines to ~17GWh BESS capacity, and expansions by Samsung SDI and SK On in the US. Separately, A123 and Dukosi are collaborating on a PoC high-capacity BESS combining 587Ah prismatic LFP cells with Dukosi’s cell monitoring and a Nuvation-designed BMS.

Jun 11, 2026

Why data centers are key issue in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary

Democratic Senate candidates McMorrow, Stevens, and El‑Sayed said they do not support a statewide data center moratorium.

Main announcement: None of the three Democratic candidates support a moratorium on data centers; instead they propose regulatory and fiscal measures — McMorrow calls for data center companies to pay for energy, grid upgrades, taxes, and union wages; Stevens emphasizes protecting ratepayers and introduced the Stop Unfair Electricity Prices Act; El‑Sayed supports banning state/local tax breaks and NDAs and released “terms of engagement” for data centers.
Background and details: A May poll found 7 in 10 Americans oppose data centers near their homes; Michigan has proposed state moratorium bills and a federal bill (S.4214) has been filed; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supports tax breaks and signed data center tax-exemption legislation; unions (UWUA, Iron Workers Local 25, UAW) have issued endorsements or taken positions relevant to candidates and data center projects.

Jun 10, 2026

GM Bets on Sodium-Ion Batteries, Expands Grid Storage and V2G Plans

General Motors has announced an expansion into grid-scale energy storage, including a partnership with Peak Energy to develop sodium-ion battery systems, imminent LFP cell production with LG Energy Solution, second-life battery deployments, and scaled V2G programmes with utilities.

Partnership & production: GM is partnering with Peak Energy to develop sodium-ion grid-scale battery systems with development at its battery R&D centre in Warren, Michigan; GM and LG Energy Solution will begin producing Ultium-branded LFP cells within the next month to support lower-cost storage applications.
Deployments & timelines: GM and Redwood Materials have integrated around 10,000 second-life GM battery packs into energy systems (including at Crusoe’s AI data centre in Nevada); GM will install about 100 second-life battery packs at a Michigan manufacturing facility starting next year (providing 7.2 MWh and projected to generate more than USD 3 million in electricity savings over its lifetime). The company is working with PG&E on a programme that could involve 130,000 GM EVs by 2030 and is conducting V2G trials with DTE Energy.

Jun 10, 2026

New York Confronts the Data Center Boom: Balancing Growth and Grid Reform

Democratic legislators introduced a bill for a three-year moratorium on new large data centers, and Governor Kathy Hochul directed the New York State Public Service Commission to open a regulatory proceeding to reform large-load interconnections.

Three-year moratorium introduced by Democratic legislators: The bill would freeze state and local approvals for any new data center exceeding 20 MW for three years, require the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct a comprehensive environmental review and issue regulations, and direct the state utility regulator to adopt rules preventing residential ratepayers from shouldering energy cost increases attributable to data centers.
Governor Hochul directed PSC to institute a proceeding under “Energize NY Development”: The PSC issued an Order Instituting Proceeding and Soliciting Comments (Case 26-E-0045) noting 11.9 GW of pending large-load projects in the NYISO queue (more than 8.3 GW entered in 2025); the Order lists six core objectives and sets initial comments due May 13, 2026 and reply comments due June 15, 2026, with a technical conference by Dec 31, 2026 and a white paper due Feb 12, 2027.

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