Michigan residents demanded more scrutiny of the plan to provide electricity to a proposed data center in rural Washtenaw County on Wednesday night.

They also expressed frustration and distrust with DTE Energy. The utility is asking the state for expedited approval of the company’s contracts with Oracle Corp. for a data center planned in Saline Township, near Ann Arbor.

The facility would require 1.4 gigawatts of power from the electricity provider. The data center is part of Stargate, OpenAI’s $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure around the United States.

DTE Electric has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to fast-track approval for its plan with Oracle to power the data center. That would bypass a process called a “contested case” that requires the commission to consider evidence and testimony from a variety of sources. Michigan’s Attorney General expressed alarm about the process, calling the hearing “performative listening” in a rebuke last month.

Protest

A small group of protesters gathered Wednesday afternoon across the street from DTE Energy’s Detroit headquarters. They were unhappy that DTE has tried to push plans for the data center through without public hearing.

Sarah Brabbs is from York Township, next to Saline. While she is not totally opposed to a data center, she said she’s not a fan of DTE trying to push the project through without allowing the public in on the process.

“Putting rate payers in a situation that you know we will be paying for, probably on multiple levels, is disingenuous, dysfunctional, and unacceptable,” Brabbs said.

Others at the protest said they’re concerned about the potential environmental impact, like how much water the facility could use and the amount of energy it would need to function.

“The access to the Great Lakes, they’re definitely taking advantage of whatever God-given resource in order to just implement whatever quantum, whatever new level of science and technology that they haven’t got consent from the people on if they even want it in the first place,” said Elijah Williams.

A virtual hearing Wednesday evening drew almost 90 participants. About 45 people spoke over the two and a half hours, with more in queue when the meeting ended at 9 p.m.

Appealing to Michigan’s workforce

A few speakers voiced support for the project. Most of the supporters represented trade unions or business associations who supported the project for creating jobs.

Randall Whitaker is the president of the Washtenaw County Skilled Building Trades Council. He said the project was an investment in Michigan’s workforce.

“A project like this is huge for workers,” he said.

Constructing the data center would create about 2,500 union jobs, according to DTE’s application. Other supporters argued that the facility would generate millions in tax revenue and attract talent to Michigan.

Burdening the electric grid?

DTE has said it expects the facility to increase its current peak electrical load by about 25%, but building out the capacity to accommodate that demand would not affect current ratepayers. DTE argues in its application that the data center won’t impact existing customers’ rates because of safeguards they’ve placed in the contracts with Oracle.

“The project strengthens Michigan’s long-term competitiveness in the fast-growing AI and advanced computing sectors, helping ensure our state remains a destination for innovation and talent,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement supporting the project.

But most participants opposed DTE’s request, citing the same concerns as the protesters – future electricity costs, how much water the facility would use, and whether the data center would actually benefit the local community.

A lack of transparency

Nichole Biber is a member of the Little Traverse Band of Odawa Indians, one of the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan. She said she doesn’t trust DTE or Oracle to do what’s best for residents.

“These ‘meaningful guardrails,’ from what I’ve heard so far, are all on the assurances of DTE and the multibillion dollar corporations that are pushing AI and data centers on us,” she said. “That does not reassure me.”

DTE’s application, which includes the contracts with Oracle, is partially redacted.

Maggie Kaercher, who runs a small fish farm in Dexter and also attended the hearing, said she wants the commission to deny DTE’s request and have the application available for a more thorough review.

“You can’t pretend that there’s transparency when there is so much redacted out of the papers that we’ve been able to see,” she said.

“What we are asking, and what many other people are asking for as well, is that the Commission give DTE’s proposal the proper scrutiny and ensure transparency,” said Katie Duckworth, an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. “Because this is the largest data center to be proposed in Michigan, and it’s one of the largest in the nation.”

Renewable energy or more fossil fuels?

Duckworth said the organization is concerned with how the data center’s power load will impact DTE’s ability to comply with Michigan’s climate change plans.

“It would also significantly increase the company’s renewable energy obligation under Michigan’s clean energy laws,” she said.

DTE is prepared for that challenge, the company said.

“Bringing on a data center of this size means more renewables, and more battery storage,” DTE said in a statement. The company also said the data center’s operators will finance the energy generation and storage needed to run the facility.

Duckworth said that solution would be “transformational” for DTE’s grid – if it happens.

“It raises a lot of questions including as to how those batteries would be charged and whether they will be charged by renewable energy, or whether it would involve prolonging the life of polluting fossil fuel plants or even building additional fossil fuel plants in the future,” she said.

Oracle expects the facility to open in December 2026. It won’t reach its maximum capacity of 1.4 gigawatts until December 2027, according to DTE’s application to the commission.

In October, DTE asked the commission to issue a decision by Friday, December 5. The commission is meeting at 1 p.m. that day.

At the virtual hearing, commissioners encouraged members of the public to attend a hearing on December 18 about the facility’s wetland impact permit, hosted by the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

This story was initially published on Michigan Public Radio’s site and was produced in partnership with WDET. DTE is among WDET’s sponsors.

Residents in Saline Township are hoping to create a “critical mass” of concerned citizens  at a virtual public hearing Wednesday night over a proposed $7 billion data center backed by tech giants OpenAI and Oracle.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is holding the hearing to review DTE Energy’s application to supply power for the 1.4-gigawatt facility. DTE is also seeking approval for an additional $300 million substation dedicated to the project.

Saline Township resident Tim Bruneau is helping mobilize local residents to stop the project’s construction. He says he fears the plan is being pushed through too quickly and worries about how the data center could influence future policy.

“This is going to affect every DTE customer and it might set a precedent for other utilities in our state and possibly even nationally,” Bruneau said.

Bruneau says he had a disturbing conversation with a DTE spokesperson at a recent Saline Township board meeting regardingt how the company would prioritize power during outages.

“He told me that number one priority is hospitals, fire and police stations, and number two would be senior citizen facilities,” Bruneau said. “I asked him if data centers would be number three and he refused to reply.”

In a press release, MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said Wednesday’s hearing will “add an important element of transparency in evaluating DTE Electric Co.’s proposed special contract.”

Find a link to join the virtual public meeting here.

The 2025 Detroit primary election has concluded, and now we have a two-person sprint to November’s general election to determine who will be the city’s next mayor. In this episode of MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow breaks down the results with WDET’s Russ McNamara (host of All Things Considered Detroit weekdays at 4 p.m.).

Plus, Gorchow and host Cheyna Roth discuss a shake-up in the Michigan Public Service Commision.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode: 

• Why was there a personnel change in the Michigan Public Service Commission?
• What does the Detroit mayoral race look like now that the primary is over?

Highlights

On Mary Sheffield’s majority

McNamara said Mary Sheffield’s clear lead in the mayoral primary results didn’t surprise him too much.

“It always seemed like Mary Sheffield, especially over the past couple of years, was being groomed as the heir apparent to Mike Duggan,” he said. “And nothing in the run-up to this election swayed my opinion on that. And then nothing in the results would shake that either.”

Sheffield and Solomon Kinloch now advance to November’s general election.

On Alessandra Carreon’s replacement

Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently removed Alessandra Carreon, a clean energy advocate, from serving on the Michigan Public Service Commision, which regulates the state’s energy utilities monopoly. Whitmer replaced Carreon with Shaquila Myers, who critics call an industry ally.

Gorchow said the motive to remove Carreon is still unknown.

“The Governor’s press office has refused to answer questions about why Whitmer didn’t reappoint Carreon, saying only that she takes the appointments process seriously and there’s nothing that’s come out of these PSC meetings,” he said.

Besides Myers, the other two members of the PSC are Katherine L. Peretick and Chairman Daniel C. Scripps.

As the temperature has climbed this summer, so have energy bills—and frustrations. These higher costs are driven by more than extreme summer temperatures. Factors like outdated power grids and a recent $217 million rate hike approved for DTE Energy by state regulators earlier this year are also at play.

Meanwhile, federal clean-energy incentives that once encouraged investment in renewable energy are starting to phase out. Michigan was on track to increase its renewable energy capacity by 2035. But with key federal tax credits repealed by the Trump administration, the state faces higher future costs and delayed renewable projects.

At the same time, utility shutoffs in Michigan and nationwide have increased, hitting lower-income and marginalized communities hard. 

Nicholas Schroeck, dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and an expert in environmental law and justice, joined The Metro’s Robyn Vincent to discuss energy affordability and sustainability and what residents can do about it.

Editor’s Note: DTE Energy and Consumers Energy are financial supporters of WDET.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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