Residents of Saline Township, Michigan, are successfully fighting a proposed data center by Related Digital. They’re riding the coattails of heavy support from big names like Donald Trump and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. The ambitious $7 billion project aims to house artificial intelligence infrastructure for companies like OpenAI and Oracle, but it has ignited significant local opposition. The proposed data center would use as much power as the entire city of Detroit combined. Community members, in addition to local advocates and organizers, believe that this may jeopardize Michigan’s leading efforts at advancing renewable energy.
Saline Township, with a population of just over 4,000, has emerged in this controversial development as a main front of this culture war. Local residents, including activists such as Kate Haushalter and Yousef Rabhi, argue that the data center threatens not only their environment but the future of the community.
Community Concerns and Protests
The city’s plans to allow the data center has drawn intense criticism, including protests and widespread public outcry. On December 1, one of the largest protests drew approximately 200 protesters. That was immediately followed by a state-level public input session that brought in a remarkable 800 members of the public. With this in mind, local residents are sending a clear message about their data center deal. They’re concerned about its deeper impact on the state’s renewable energy ambitions.
Kate Haushalter, one of the prominent voices against the project, stated, “Maybe because I was in the Marine Corps, but I would rather stay and fight. She speaks to the need to fight for their community’s interests against the developers and other big interests with more power. Haushalter maintains that the act of fighting this fight is what’s going to inspire the next generation. She admitted that the odds could be better, but she knows it’s worth fighting for. She doesn’t want to pass this lesson of quitting on to her children.
Yousef Rabhi, another resident who helped lead the opposition, pointed to larger consequences of the data center. He remarked, “That’s what these data centers are symbolic of, and they’re the vehicle for is the furtherance of this divide.” Rabhi decried the increasing impact of billionaire tech barons on local governance, calling their interference in policy making “dangerous.”
Legislative Pushback and Local Governance
Even in the face of vigorous local resistance, the projects’ developers haven’t given up on their plans. In September, Saline Township’s board of trustees voted unanimously to deny the data center proposal. They expressed very serious concerns about its impact on the environment and its energy consumption. Yet the project’s supporters have reacted with all speed and fury to try and reverse that ruling.
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is now considering the wetland permits the project needs to build the new pipeline. One way local residents can keep a watchful eye and remain engaged through this process. Their goal is to sway public opinion and government decision-making to benefit their interests.
Local resident Jim Marion had this to say about the unexpected developments of the day, “We certainly were given the cards we were given.” In it, he recognized the difficult battle taking on carpetbagging wealthy investors and powerful political leaders.
The Broader Implications of Data Centers
The proposed data center’s potential energy consumption has raised alarms about its impact on Michigan’s efforts to transition toward renewable energy sources. Opponents argue that this expansion will screw up plans to reduce carbon emissions and make the country more sustainable.
In response to concerns about unemployment, a DTE spokesperson spoke on the matter. They went on to explain, “Let’s be clear—these data center customer contracts WILL NOT impose a cost burden on our current rate payers. With this joint statement, the lawmakers attempt to remove any ambiguity surrounding the potential data center’s impact on the local residents’ utility bills.
Some residents aren’t convinced by promises like these. Josh LeBaron, another longtime opponent of the project, expressed his disappointment. I’d be sitting at home reading a book if it was a subdivision,” an acknowledgment from him that the kind of development his community needs doesn’t involve the construction of a data center.