Updated Dec. 16, 2025, 5:54 p.m. ET
- Over 100 people rallied at the Michigan state Capitol to protest the development of data centers.
- Concerns raised by protestors included potential electricity rate hikes, water usage, and a lack of transparency.
- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized a massive proposed project in Saline Township involving OpenAI and Oracle.
LANSING — More than 100 people joined in chants against data centers, braving the cold to get their point across at the state Capitol on Dec. 16.
"No secret deals!" they shouted. "No secret deals!"
They held signs noting dangers to water and potential electricity rate increases because of data centers being proposed across the state — from a 24-megawatt, less-than-an-acre facility being proposed for downtown Lansing to a 1.4-gigawatt massive data center on 250 acres causing an uproar in Saline Township.
They listened to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticizing the lack of transparency with DTE Energy, the utility that's associated with the Saline Township proposal, and legislators who protested tax breaks for data center projects.
The Saline Township project involves OpenAI — the creator of the popular artificial intelligence product ChatGPT — software giant Oracle and Related Digital, a subsidiary of New York-based Related Companies. Nessel called it the biggest data center for the state of Michigan and one of the biggest for America.
"We're talking about 1.4 gigawatts, which is, of course, enough to provide energy to a city of a million people," Nessel said. "I think we should be taking this extremely seriously, don't you? Do you guys trust DTE? Do you trust Open AI? Do we trust Oracle to look out for our best interests here in Michigan?"
To each question, members of the crowd shouted, "No!"
A Facebook group, "Michiganders Against Data Centers," organized the rally that drew residents from as far as Detroit to the east and Lowell and Kalamazoo to the west.
Data center plans that would provide the infrastructure for today's digital world and are touted as a key component for artificial intelligence already have found approval in Lyon Township and Southfield.
The Lansing City Council is expected to vote early in the new year on United Kingdom-based Deep Green's conditional rezoning request and a sale of city-owned parcels mainly functioning as parking lots to build a two-story, 25,000-square-foot, 24-megawatt data center along Kalamazoo Street, between Cedar and Larch streets.
Patrick and Pam Lind of the Mason area were in the crowd, holding a sign that protested data centers being potentially placed in Mason and Vevay Township.
"We're trying to get in front of this to stop it," Patrick Lind said.
He had hoped to see more people at the rally, but his wife was thankful to see the diverse crowd, which included people from various backgrounds.
"They are reflecting what the Michigan citizens are feeling about our natural resources," Pam Lind said, emphasizing Michigan's Great Lakes and fresh water. "We don't like to see it sold out. We don't want to see it polluted. We don't want to see the water levels dropping. We care about our people. We care about their health and their mental well-being. We care about our rural and our farmlands. That's Pure Michigan."
Among the legislators in attendance, state Rep. Reggie Miller, D-Van Buren Township, spoke out against a "gold rush mentality" of the data center developers and Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton, spoke out against tax breaks for data centers and their push to move into Michigan.
"We need the entire state to stand up," DeSana said. "These could come to your area. You think you're safe today because you don't have a data center next to you. Just wait. They're coming."
East Lansing resident Nichole Keway Biber also attended the rally.
She said data center developers don't want people to ask questions about artificial intelligence's repercussions on the environment, jobs, mental health and children's cognitive development.
"They're trying to push it on us as something we need rather than the reality that we need our lands for food," she said. "We need our water to get cleaner, not be filled with even more chemicals."
Tim Bruneau of Saline Township lives less than two miles from the proposed data center site.
"There's no demonstrated need for a data center in Saline Township or one of the other 23 or 24 that we know of at this time affecting communities," Bruneau said. "It's exploitation dressed up as innovation. This is not just a development proposal. It is, by every meaningful definition, a war on our way of life."
Contact editor Susan Vela at [email protected] or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.