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LANSING - The expansion of hyperscale data centers in the state is inflaming tensions between some community residents and their governments as local officials balance the unpopularity of data centers, the economic pressure from corporations and the limits of local authority.
According to the annual State of the State Survey from Michigan State University's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, 70% of those surveyed opposed the construction of hyperscale data centers in their communities, and over half thought that such data centers are bad for the environment or economy.
Near Mason, a data center proposed by Ohio-based Comino Development would be larger than 400 acres, something residents worry may bring down home values, deplete local aquifers and increase electric rates.
Despite residents' uproar over the data center, the property awaits approval for annexation into the city of Mason by the State Boundary Commission.
"There is nothing to say 'no' to," said Russell Whipple, the mayor of Mason. "They've requested annexation into the city, and the city's really not a participant in that process."
According to Catherine Mullhaupt, a staff attorney for the Michigan Townships Association, state law provides townships with little authority to reject data centers in their community merely because of their unpopularity.
"You can't actually exclude a use or prevent it from being in your community simply because you don't like it," said Mullhaupt.
In Washtenaw County's Saline Township, developers of a new 250-acre data center nicknamed the Barn sued, alleging unfair zoning practices after the township initially denied them a zoning change that would have allowed the project. The township settled out of court, and plans for the data center went forward despite local outcry against the development.
"It's also my understanding that the settlement agreement through the courts pretty much dictated the development standards," said Whipple. "That means that Saline [Township] didn't get to dictate the development standards. That's a worst-case scenario."
In response to proposals for data centers, many communities have proposed moratoriums on data centers in order to understand and zone them properly.
That's been a major topic of political debate ahead of the midterm elections in November.
The Townships Association's Mullhaupt said, "The issue with data centers is they're a brand-new use in most cases, and they're at such a scale outsized from anything else we've had to deal with in recent years that they warrant more time to identify what the pros and cons are."
Many communities across the state have already enacted moratoriums on data-center development, including sites in Mason and Delta counties.
According to Bill Ballenger, a former state legislator and host of the Ballenger Report, much of the pressure for candidates to distance themselves from data centers comes from being on the campaign trail.
"It all boils down to whether a particular public official or candidate is running right now for election or re-election," said Ballenger.
As of Oct. 2, U.S. Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, and Mike Rogers, a Republican, have both called for local moratoriums on new data centers, as have some candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives.
"You'll notice that almost everybody who is running for election or re-election at whatever level - not only in Michigan but nationally - has gotten the message from the electorate: data centers are highly unpopular and should be either stopped completely, or at least there should be a pause, a moratorium," Ballenger said.
Despite the unpopularity of data center projects, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared at the groundbreaking site of the Barn with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in June.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is championing the production of large-scale data centers in a race with China, as reported by the Associated Press.