Michigan Data Center Intel

Recent Michigan data center news

• Oct 8, 2026

  Data centers, hazardous waste weigh on voters in Michigan’s 31st House District

  Michigan House candidates Laura Perry and Shannon Dare Wayne have both said they support repealing data center tax breaks and raising hazardous waste tipping fees in the 31st District race.

  • The article is a news report on candidate positions and campaign finance in a competitive Michigan House election, not a first-time corporate project announcement.
  • It says the district includes Van Buren Township, home to Wayne Disposal and a proposed 1-gigawatt Google data center; Perry supports a one-year data center moratorium, while Dare Wayne supports strong safeguards and local input.
  • Perry said she would introduce repeal legislation if elected; both candidates oppose the Wayne Disposal expansion and radioactive waste shipments, and both support using higher tipping fees for inspections, monitoring, and emergency preparedness.
• Oct 7, 2026

  Top facilities management conferences to attend in 2027

  Facilities Dive has published a 2027 conference list for facilities management, including events relevant to data centers, AI, energy resilience, sustainability and workforce development.

  • The list covers 22 events across the U.S., with dates and locations for major conferences such as ASHRAE Winter Conference (Jan. 23-27, Chicago), DCD Connect New York (May 17-18, New York City), Data Center World (May 24-27, Nashville), Realcomm IBcon (June 8-10, Tampa), and IFMA World Workplace 2027 (Oct. 13-15, Kansas City).
  • The article highlights recurring themes including AI in building systems, energy resilience and efficiency, cooling technology, cybersecurity risk, talent development, and sustainable facilities; it also notes that Data Center World, Greenbuild, ISSA Show North America and Data Center World Power are hosted by Informa.
• Oct 6, 2026

  Detroit council member seeks 18-month pause on data center permits: ‘There are no protections in place’

  Detroit council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero has requested a draft ordinance to pause permitting for new enterprise AI data centers until March 17, 2028, while the city develops formal zoning rules.

  • Santiago-Romero’s Sept. 29 memorandum asks the council’s legal division to draft an interim zoning moratorium to stop new permits; she said the pause would last until March 17, 2028.
  • The proposal follows a March council resolution urging Mayor Mary Sheffield to impose a two-year moratorium; the City Planning Commission is separately drafting a permanent zoning policy with a goal of Dec. 31 approval.
  • City officials said the mayor has not acted on the earlier request, and the administration has effectively paused permitting while the issue is under review; the legal path for the council’s new proposal remains unclear.
• Oct 5, 2026

  Voices: Michigan’s AI data center push needs public scorecard

  Gleb Tsipursky argues that Michigan should create a public scorecard to measure whether AI and data center companies are meeting the commitments in the state’s affordability pledge.

  • The opinion piece says Michigan’s AI data center pledge should be made measurable in public by tracking whether companies pay infrastructure costs, add new power, manage water use, and deliver local hiring and training commitments.
  • It cites Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s July announcement of the Michigan Affordability and Responsible Growth Pledge and frames the article as commentary/opinion, not a new policy announcement; it also references a Sept. 11 federal appeals court ruling on the J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Olive as background on grid reliability and cost.
• Oct 5, 2026

  Vistra in Line for $4.2B DOE Loan Package to Uprate Nuclear Plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania

  The Department of Energy has announced a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion for Vistra’s nuclear uprate and modernization program in Pennsylvania and Ohio, with an option to finance potential future uprates at Comanche Peak in Texas.

  • The commitment would help finance uprates and modernization at Beaver Valley (Pennsylvania), Davis-Besse and Perry (Ohio), potentially adding 433 MW of new nuclear capacity and preserving nearly 4 GW of baseload output.
  • DOE said the support is conditional on Vistra meeting technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before definitive financing documents are signed; the agency also said the work could extend plant operations by 20 years beyond existing licenses and construction related to Perry is anticipated to begin in October 2026.
• Oct 1, 2026

  Michigan regulators OK DTE contracts for Google data center 

  Michigan regulators have conditionally approved DTE Energy contracts to power Google’s 1-gigawatt data center in Van Buren Township, while Wayne County separately overrode a veto to approve a tax exemption for the project.

  • The Michigan Public Service Commission unanimously approved special contracts covering generation, transmission, distribution, and other costs, with protections including 80% minimum monthly billing demand, a 20-year contract, and a termination payment that keeps Google paying for at least 15 years of minimum charges.
  • The project is expected online by December 2027 and at maximum load by December 2028; Google must pay for up to 1,600 MW of renewable energy and 480 MW of battery energy storage, and the county tax exemption saves Google more than $125 million for the 282-acre site near I-94.
• Oct 1, 2026

  4.5-foot-thick walls needed to absorb data center noise: researcher

  The article reports a commentary and technical guidance from biology professor Kasey Fowler-Finn on data center noise mitigation, rather than a new company announcement.

  • Fowler-Finn says data centers emit low-frequency hum from large HVAC and cooling systems that can travel farther than high-frequency noise and may require 4.5-foot-thick walls at 63 Hz or 14-foot-thick walls at 20 Hz to mitigate.
  • Her guidance recommends third-octave band sound pressure testing and setback distances of at least 1,500 feet; it also references lawsuits in Vineland, New Jersey; Dowagiac, Michigan; North Tonawanda, New York; and Hood County, Texas and a September survey by Science for Georgia and Quiet Communities.
• Sep 30, 2026

  The United States Department of Commerce and the Government of the Republic of Korea Announce Strategic Investment in Project Star, a $22.3 billion Energy Infrastructure Campus in Encinal, Texas, being jointly developed by Related Companies and NextEra Energy, in partnership with Lewis Energy Group

  The United States Department of Commerce and the Government of the Republic of Korea have announced support for Project Star, a new $22+ billion energy infrastructure campus in Encinal, Texas.

  • Project Star will be developed by Related Companies and NextEra Energy Resources with Lewis Energy Group; it includes 6.47 GW of natural gas generation to support an adjacent 5 GW data center campus.
  • The project is expected to be built in phases, with initial generation coming online as early as 2029, and is described as part of the U.S.-Korea Trade Deal and Strategic Investment MOU implementation.
• Sep 29, 2026

  How data centers factor into DTE’s 20-year power plan

  DTE Energy’s long-range power plan is under review by Michigan regulators and includes two new natural gas plants, major renewable and storage additions, and capacity growth through 2046.

  • Main action: DTE proposes 700 MW gas plant in Milan Township and 1,400 MW plant in Handy Township, with costs of $2.5 billion and $3.9 billion respectively.
  • Background/details: The plan would grow capacity from 16 GW to 33 GW by 2046; DTE says the Monroe coal plant retirement drives the need, while critics say the new gas is mainly to serve Oracle/OpenAI and Google data center load.
  • The utility also proposes 15 GW renewables, 4.5 GW storage, 177 MW additional nuclear at Fermi 2 starting 2036, and 2.1 GW of natural gas generation; the Michigan Public Service Commission has 300 days for initial review.
• Sep 25, 2026

  El-Sayed, Rogers face voter opposition to data centers in crucial Senate race

  Planet Detroit reports on the Michigan U.S. Senate race and its overlap with data center policy, campaign finances, and voter sentiment. The article references past and current positions and financial disclosures rather than announcing a new project.

  • Mike Rogers said in August that he supports a one-year moratorium on new data centers; Abdul El-Sayed released “terms of engagement” in January and supports state and local moratoriums.
  • The story cites an August EPIC-MRA poll showing 62% of likely Michigan voters oppose data center development and notes Rogers’ disclosure of $100,001 to $250,000 in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, which has 29% of its portfolio invested in data centers.
  • It also mentions the $16-billion Oracle and OpenAI data center under construction in Saline Township, the $1.25-billion University of Michigan computing facility in Ypsilanti Township, and a draft wastewater permit for Related Digital with public comments open through Oct. 23, 2026.