By Karlee VanAntwerp
With support from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, companies like OpenAI and Deep Green are looking to build more data centers in Michigan, raising questions about adverse environmental and financial impacts.
Whitmer has said that data centers are a big part of America’s future and that Michigan can be an example for the rest of the country.
“Can Michigan benefit from these jobs and build data centers in a smarter way while upholding our strong environmental laws to protect our precious natural resources? We have an opportunity to do both,” Whitmer said in a press release.
Whitmer also voiced support for the controversial OpenAI Stargate project, which would put a new AI data center in Saline Township in Washtenaw County.
“We worked with these companies to ensure that the data center they’re designing—one of the most advanced ones ever built—will protect Michigan’s air, water and land,” she said.
It’s just one of a number of controversial data center proposals in the state, including ones in Allegan, Kalamazoo, Wayne, Oakland and Monroe counties, as well as Detroit and Lansing.
Some politicians such as former House Speaker Tom Leonard, a 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate, are pushing back against what they say is the unchecked building of data centers. They express concerns about the use of taxpayer money and environmental impacts.
Leonard, R-DeWitt, said, “The Legislature needs to repeal the legislation that gave data centers tax subsidies.”
“They do not need corporate welfare. We do not need to be taking money out of taxpayers’ pockets and giving it to big tech data centers to go around the state and buy up our farmland,” he said.
Leonard has called on the Legislature to enact a one-year moratorium on construction of new data centers until more comprehensive regulations can be put into place.
Michigan Environmental Council energy policy manager Carlee Knott also expressed concerns surrounding the environment and affordability.
Knott said, “There’s quite a few ways it can impact the environment,” including the level of noise pollution and impacts on land use.
When it comes to building data centers, Knott said local governments are in charge of zoning and siting.
“These local governments right now have a lot of weight on whether data centers are coming there and what regulations and environmental protections are placed on them. I can see why some local governments are interested in having a moratorium for just a year to develop a good ordinance,” she said.
“Developing a good ordinance that protects against any of the harms that might come from a data center is really important for them,” Knott said.
Leonard said he is working with Rep. Jennifer Wortz, R-Quincy, to write legislation for a one-year moratorium.
Leonard said, “At the end of the year, if we don’t have this right, then we can extend the moratorium.”