More Than 100 Rally Against Data Centers At Michigan Capitol

LANSING — More than 100 people joined in chants against data centers, braving the cold to get their point across at the state Capitol on Dec. 16.

"No secret deals!" they shouted. "No secret deals!"

They held signs noting dangers to water and potential electricity rate increases because of data centers being proposed across the state — from a 24-megawatt, less-than-an-acre facility being proposed for downtown Lansing to a 1.4-gigawatt massive data center on 250 acres causing an uproar in Saline Township.

They listened to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticizing the lack of transparency with DTE Energy, the utility that's associated with the Saline Township proposal, and legislators who protested tax breaks for data center projects.

The Saline Township project involves OpenAI — the creator of the popular artificial intelligence product ChatGPT — software giant Oracle and Related Digital, a subsidiary of New York-based Related Companies. Nessel called it the biggest data center for the state of Michigan and one of the biggest for America.

"We're talking about 1.4 gigawatts, which is, of course, enough to provide energy to a city of a million people," Nessel said. "I think we should be taking this extremely seriously, don't you? Do you guys trust DTE? Do you trust Open AI? Do we trust Oracle to look out for our best interests here in Michigan?"

To each question, members of the crowd shouted, "No!"

A Facebook group, "Michiganders Against Data Centers," organized the rally that drew residents from as far as Detroit to the east and Lowell and Kalamazoo to the west.

Data center plans that would provide the infrastructure for today's digital world and are touted as a key component for artificial intelligence already have found approval in Lyon Township and Southfield.

The Lansing City Council is expected to vote early in the new year on United Kingdom-based Deep Green's conditional rezoning request and a sale of city-owned parcels mainly functioning as parking lots to build a two-story, 25,000-square-foot, 24-megawatt data center along Kalamazoo Street, between Cedar and Larch streets.

Source: HackerNews