One of the largest data center projects in the country is happening in Michigan, in the small farming community of Saline Township. Southwest of Ann Arbor, Saline Township is home to roughly 2,300 people.

Many of those residents did not want a data center. Their board voted against it, and their neighbors packed the meeting hall. Then the lawsuit came.

The companies are Oracle and OpenAI. Together, they are worth more than a trillion dollars. The township said it could not justify the fight, so it settled, and construction began.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer calls it the largest single investment in Michigan history.

It will use more electricity than an average nuclear reactor produces.

State lawmaker Morgan Foreman represents the district where it is being built. She says her constituents were not partners in this project; they were bystanders to it. She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss how a small community of farmers and small-business owners ended up hosting one of the most consequential pieces of AI infrastructure in the country.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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

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

More stories from The Metro

In late 2024, Michigan lawmakers voted to provide tax breaks for large data centers. Since then, local officials across Michigan have seen an influx of proposals. 

Last year, there were more than 15 proposals for data centers across the state. Several are still waiting for the green light, including one in Allen Park. The city’s planning commission has delayed a vote twice this year, requesting further information from Solstice Data.

These proposals come with the promise of jobs, but taxpayers are skeptical. They want to know if the electric grid handle the energy demand data centers create, and how much air, water, and noise pollution they will produce.

Steven Gonzalez Monserrate is a post-doctoral researcher at Goethe University in Frankfort and studies data centers and how they affect the people and the environment.

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

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

More stories from The Metro