Michigan Data Center Intel

Recent Michigan data center news

• Feb 28, 2026

  DTE files new electric rate hike request days after securing $242 million increase

  DTE Energy filed a new rate increase request with the Michigan Public Service Commission this week, submitting the filing on Feb. 24, 2026 and indicating a formal application will be filed on or around April 27, 2026.

  • Filing details: The new filing was submitted Feb. 24, 2026 and does not include a dollar figure; DTE says the increase would affect all customers in its service territory and is based on a project test year for the 12-month period ending Feb. 29, 2028. The MPSC had approved a $242.2 million rate increase days earlier that will take effect March 5, 2026, with DTE estimating an average residential bill increase of $4.23 per month.
  • Background & related facts: DTE reported $1.5 billion in 2025 earnings (up from $1.4 billion in 2024); the company noted an agreement to power Oracle and OpenAI’s planned hyperscale data center in Saline Township (developed by Related Companies). Michigan AG Dana Nessel and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters called for reforms including a proposed Ratepayers Bill of Rights (legislation introduced late 2025) and urged the MPSC to reconsider repeated approvals of rate increases.
• Feb 25, 2026

  State allowed Saline data center construction before final air quality permit approval

  Michigan regulators (EGLE) granted air and wetlands permits in January for Oracle and OpenAI’s Saline Township data center, allowing destruction of roughly 9.12 acres of wetlands and installation of diesel backup generation.

  • Permit approvals and project scope: EGLE issued the air quality permit (Jan. 13) and wetlands permit (Jan. 16) for the developer Related Digital for the $7-billion Saline Township data center (a.k.a. Project Mitten), allowing 14 diesel backup generators plus one diesel firewater pump and the temporary disturbance of a stream, installation of a culvert, and construction of three stormwater structures. The permits authorize loss of ~9.12 acres of wetlands with mitigation via acquisition of 13.68 acres in the River Raisin Watershed. The project is permitted to emit 34.86 tons/year of NOx (major-source threshold = 250 tpy) and will require backup generation for ~1% of the site’s load; the site’s demand is 1.4 gigawatts.

  • Timing, waiver, and approvals: EGLE issued a waiver to Related Digital on Oct. 17, 2025 (developer applied Sept. 24, 2025) to begin installation of Project Mitten — roughly three months before the final air quality permit. The Michigan Public Service Commission granted DTE Energy expedited approval on Dec. 18 for its contracts related to the project; local objections, protests, and a township rezoning vote against the development preceded a settlement between Saline Township, landowners, and the developer.

• Feb 24, 2026

  Data Center Power Demands Are Contributing to Higher Energy Bills

  Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo reports that as data centers expand nationwide, utilities have received hundreds of gigawatts in interconnection requests, prompting utilities to seek large infrastructure investments and pass costs onto residential and small-business customers. This article is a synthesis of reporting and data from multiple sources rather than a single new corporate or government announcement.

  • Main announcement/action:Utilities received at least 700 GW of data center interconnection requests in 2025, prompting requests for $29 billion in rate increases in H1 2025 and driving investment in generation, transmission, and transformers; regulated utilities face an “obligation to serve” that interacts with approvals by public utility commissions to raise rates to cover these upfront investments.
  • Background / other details:Coal plant refurbishment can cost up to $1.3 billion, natural gas plants entering service in 2030 report costs around $2,000 per kW (potentially rising to $3,000 per kW), average U.S. residential electricity rose to 19 cents/kWh by end of 2025 (from ~13 cents pre-2019), $25 billion in outstanding household utility debt in June 2025 and ~21 million households behind on bills; regulators and utilities are creating large-load tariffs and exploring measures such as on-bill financing for energy-efficiency upgrades.
• Feb 21, 2026

  The Hidden Cost of America’s AI Boom: How Trump’s Pollution Rollbacks Are Clearing the Way for Coal-Fired Data Centers

  The Environmental Protection Agency finalized the repeal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) under the Trump administration.

  • Main action: The EPA, led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, finalized repeal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) (originally implemented in 2012) to ease limits on mercury, arsenic and other hazardous pollutants; the administration explicitly framed the rollback as necessary to keep generation capacity online to power AI data centers. The EPA had previously estimated MATS would prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and 130,000 asthma attacks annually.
  • Legal and political follow-up: A coalition of state attorneys general (New York, California, Illinois) and environmental groups (Sierra Club, Earthjustice) have signaled intent to sue and prepare litigation; Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to codify MATS into law (not expected to pass in the current Congress). The article reports the repeal is part of a broader deregulatory push including relaxed carbon and methane rules and streamlined permitting for fossil fuel infrastructure.
• Feb 21, 2026

  The Big Environmental Issues of 2026

  Four northern Michigan nonprofits (Flow Water Advocates, Conservation Resource Alliance, Citizens Climate Lobby - Grand Traverse, and Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council) outlined their primary objectives and specific 2026 projects and policy priorities in an interview with Northern Express.

  • Main announcement and actions: Flow Water Advocates is pushing for a statewide septic code, a water trust fund, and transparency/accountability for water, energy, and land use related to data centers while opposing Enbridge’s Line 5; CRA plans to replace seven road-stream crossings and remove eight dams in 2026 (work focused ~90% on rivers/streams), including habitat restoration and oak–pine barrens projects with Huron-Manistee National Forests and Tribal partners; Citizens Climate Lobby (Grand Traverse) is pushing Community Solar legislation and federal permitting reform (and is tracking a ballot petition to amend the Michigan Campaign Finance Act); NMEAC is focused on opposing Line 5, scrutinizing proposed mega-data centers for water/energy impacts, and seeking transparency around Cherry Capital Airport expansion.

  • Background and context: Groups cited reduced federal investment via the State Revolving Fund (SRF), are watching GLRI funding renewal in October 2026, and are tracking potential rollbacks or protections for federal laws such as the CWA and NEPA; CRA’s 2026 river projects (7 crossings replaced, 8 dams removed) and regional forest restoration work are scheduled for the 2026 season and tied to ongoing partnerships and funding streams.

• Feb 21, 2026

  Judge denies Saline Township resident’s move to intervene in data center settlement

  Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Julia Owdziej denied Kathryn Haushalter’s motion to intervene in the consent judgment allowing the $7-billion Oracle and OpenAI data center to proceed.

  • Denial details: Judge Owdziej found the intervention request untimely and concluded by-right intervention is not possible in a closed case; the consent judgment was entered Oct. 15 and the township vote on the consent agreement occurred at a meeting on Oct. 1 (video shows the vote in open session). Haushalter and others have also filed a mandamus complaint (filed Jan. 28) alleging the Zoning Board of Appeals failed to hold a required hearing and the clerk did not publish a notice related to a Jan. 14 rezoning amendment.
  • Project and litigation background: Developer Related Digital sued after the township board voted Sept. 10 to deny rezoning for 575 acres; lawyers for landowners/developers say parties have relied on the consent judgment — developers have paid DTE Energy a nonrefundable $40-million deposit and have ordered $2 billion in specialized equipment for the $7-billion, 1.4 gigawatt project; attorneys argued the consent judgment enables a form of conditional zoning that the township ordinance bars.
• Feb 17, 2026

  Designing Data Centers for the Communities and Natural Environments Where We Operate

  Oracle commits to community-centered design and environmental protections for its AI data center projects.

  • Main announcement/action: Oracle will design and build AI data centers with community and environmental protections including closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling systems, commitments to preserve and enhance on-site land, reduced light and noise impacts, and a financial commitment of $50 million to modernize Doña Ana County’s water system. Oracle also states it will fund any electrical infrastructure upgrades required to service its campuses (not ratepayers), and that daily potable water use at its sites will be similar to a typical office building.

  • Details and site-specific facts:

    • Port Washington, Wisconsin: 672-acre site; 172 acres to be preserved/enhanced; planting more than 2,000 native trees; supporting the Valley Creek Corridor Revitalization Project to restore/protect waterways.
    • Saline Township, Michigan:Three-quarters of the site to remain farmland, wetlands, and open space; buildings sit below road level; sensor-controlled, downward-facing lighting; site noise ~55 decibels at the property line; new stormwater systems will reduce runoff into the Saline River to below current levels.
    • Doña Ana County, New Mexico: closed-loop cooling initial fill will use non-potable water drawn from existing commercial water rights (not community drinking water); $50 million committed to modernize the county water system.
    • Abilene, Texas: data center will utilize excess, low-cost wind energy from the local grid to help stabilize utilization.
• Feb 10, 2026

  Crain’s Detroit Business Tours 123NET’s Southfield Data Center

  Crain’s Detroit Business published an inside look at 123NET’s Southfield data center.

  • Facility details: The piece profiles 123NET’s seven-story, 136,000 square-foot Southfield building that functions as “Southeast Michigan’s digital backbone,” sits atop the state’s most fiber-dense intersection, and moves 10 terabytes of data every second; the site is the state’s largest carrier hotel, links 40 internet service providers, and 123NET reports 60%–70% of its business is fiber connectivity with the remainder in data center services.
  • Background and context: Crain’s documents technical specs, security and value of equipment (noting “millions of dollars in computing equipment” per cabinet), includes commentary from CRO Chuck Irvin distinguishing the carrier-hotel role from hyperscalers, and cites industry estimates that AI-driven growth could raise data-center infrastructure spending to $6.7 trillion by 2030.
• Feb 9, 2026

  Refrigeración de bucle cerrado en centros de datos de Oracle AI

  Oracle announces it will implement closed-loop, non-evaporative, direct-to-chip cooling in its new AI data centers in several U.S. states.

  • Main announcement: Oracle will deploy closed-loop, non-evaporative, direct-to-chip cooling in AI data centers in New Mexico, Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin; the systems are filled initially via tanker trucks and then operate as a sealed recirculation system, so daily cooling does not consume community potable water.
  • Background and details: The article cites an Uptime Institute estimate that conventional evaporative cooling can use on the order of millions of liters per MW per year; Oracle states that replenishment of coolant is rare and only for abnormal conditions, and that routine water use at the sites is limited to typical office occupancy needs. Oracle also notes local investments including hiring local staff, partnerships with colleges, and funding for infrastructure.
• Feb 9, 2026

  Closed-loop cooling in Oracle AI data centers

  Oracle announces it will deploy direct-to-chip, closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling systems at its upcoming AI data centers in New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin.

  • Main announcement: Oracle will use direct-to-chip, closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling systems at AI data centers in New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin, designed to remove heat at the server/processor level and avoid continuous consumption of potable water. The design circulates cooling fluid in sealed piping so day-to-day cooling does not depend on adding water.
  • Background and technical details: The cooling loop is initially filled using water delivered via tankers and then operates as a sealed, recirculating system with rare top-offs under abnormal conditions; ongoing daily water use for cooling is stated as effectively zero, and the article cites an Uptime Institute benchmark that conventional evaporative systems can use on the order of millions of gallons per year per megawatt of IT load.