Contact: Nora Naughton, nora.naughton@sierraclub.org, 248-345-1456
Lansing – As Michigan is rapidly becoming a target for large-scale data center development, the Michigan Sierra Club is calling for a temporary moratorium on all data center development until Michigan legislators agree to a comprehensive state plan that ensures these projects will not harm our communities or our environment.
Following testimony before Michigan House legislators advocating for stricter regulations and critiquing the accelerated process of approval provided to a massive data center in Saline Township, the Sierra Club released a petition to stop unchecked data center development.
The petition calls upon lawmakers to assure our state policies keep pace with the significant energy, water, and cost impacts of these “hyperscale” facilities, which can require enough energy to power a small city. Without proper safeguards, an uptick in data center development is guaranteed to drive up electricity bills, strain local water resources, and undermine our state’s aggressive clean energy and climate goals.
The Sierra Club moved to draft this petition following a rushed approval process late last year for DTE’s 1.4-gigawatt data center project in Saline Township. The massive development was granted ex parte approval, bypassing important benchmarks for public scrutiny. While the Michigan Public Service Commission included a long list of requirements for DTE in its approval of the data center, we are concerned that this rushed process sets a dangerous precedent for future data center development.
“We are calling on all elected officials in Michigan to demand full transparency from these data center companies, make space for community input, and stand for enforceable guardrails that will protect our communities, our environment, and ratepayers,” said Elayne Coleman, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Director. “It is imperative that data centers and their operators meet clear standards, including renewable energy requirements, responsible use of water supplies, and protecting communities and ratepayers from the costs of rapidly growing power grids.”
Tim Minotas, Sierra Club Michigan’s Legislative & Political Director, elaborated extensively on this in his testimony earlier Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee’s Corporate Subsidies and State Investments subcommittee. You can read the full transcript of that testimony here.