Article courtesy MIRS News for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and several Democratic legislators put up opposing comments as the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) held a well-attended virtual hearing about speeding up approvals for DTE to provide electrical service to a proposed Washtenaw County data center.
Whitmer sent a comment to the MPSC that joined the chorus of construction unions in support of the OpenAI Stargate project from Oracle that would support more than 2,500 jobs during construction and 450 permanent jobs.
“The reality is that data centers are going to be a big part of America’s future. The question isn’t whether they will be built, but rather: 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?” Whitmer said.
She sent her comment in a letter saying she was supporting the jobs and wanted to hold the site to high environmental standards, along with conservation of the water used to cool the data center.
“We are also working together to ensure that electricity rates do not go up because of this project. DTE already supplies the energy this facility needs and Oracle will fund any additional upgrades to the grid out of their own pocket, consistent with Michigan law,” she said.
Sen. Sue Shink (D-Dexter) said she was opposed to speeding up the DTE process and said in a comment during Wednesday’s two-and-a-half-hour MPSC hearing that the process doesn’t protect rate payers, but the contested process would protect those customers.
A letter was sent to the MPSC signed by Shink and 22 other Democratic legislators. Names included Sens. Rosemary Bayer (D-Keego Harbor), Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) along with Reps. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield), Kelly Breen (D-Novi), Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn), Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City), Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor), Kimberly Edwards (D-Eastpointe), Morgan Foreman (D-Ann Arbor), Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy), Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park), Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit), Reggie Miller (D-Belleville), Veronica Paiz (D-Harper Woods), Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia), Natalie PRICE (D-Berkley), Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City), and Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park).
“I don’t have time to read the whole letter, but basically their concern is that this is a historic precedent-setting request to approve a contract for 1.4 GW of electricity, enough to power over a million homes, 25% of the electricity usage in our state. It’s important to set a good precedent and for this not to be done in secrecy,” Shink said.
She questioned whether enough electricity could be generated to power all Michiganders, and the sped-up process doesn’t let those questions get answered.
“I respect the commission greatly and request that you take our request seriously,” she said.
Progress Michigan – a non-partisan, nonprofit organization – sent the results of a poll from Public Policy Polling with 796 Michiganders that found 30% “strongly or somewhat supported” the data centers being built in the state. Another 49% were “opposed”, with 21% “not sure.”
“Michiganders shouldn’t have to fight this hard to protect something as basic as clean water,” said Progress Michigan Managing Director Denzel McCampbell.
He said the lawmakers had a responsibility to protect communities from excess water usage and overburdening the electrical grid.
“This shouldn’t be a difficult decision. People before profits, it’s that simple,” he said.
The MPSC commissioners talked about the project at the start of the virtual hearing Wednesday night, and MPSC Chair Dan Scripps acknowledged the amount of attention the Saline Township data center is generating.
“The contracts under which DTE is proposing to serve this customer have generated a lot of public interest, to put it mildly,” Scripps said.
He said nearly 1,000 attendees packed Wednesday night’s hearing and nearly 5,000 comments were submitted on the “ex parte” application since it was filed Oct. 31.
“We know that some people are excited about the potential opportunities this and other data centers could provide. We also know that folks in Saline Township and across the state are concerned about data center development,” he said.
He said the commission is listening to the concerns and is reviewing the contracts, but wanted to stress to future commentary that the MPSC is bound by statute to only concern itself with matters of utility and the items they oversee, which are not environmental. Many comments were concerns about environmental impacts.
“We are not reviewing whether data centers are good or bad. We’re not looking at the range of potential benefits and threats of AI. Those are very real questions, but they’re outside the jurisdiction of the commission,” Scripps said.
MPSC Commissioner Katherine Peretick said the commission was learning from many of the states that were having issues with data centers and pointed to a recent order issued for utilities to hold data centers accountable to their contracts.
She said they were looking at the data center contract with DTE Energy – the state’s largest electricity utility – to make sure the 1.4 GW of battery storage would be paid for by the data center.
“That storage wouldn’t be their private resource, it would be located on the grid to enable it to function and operate more efficiently,” Peretick said.
Attorney General Dana Nessel thanked the commenters who participated in the public forum.
“While the commission cannot use Wednesday night’s public comments as a basis for approving or denying DTE’s special contracts, they can consider the public sentiment and the significance of the decision before them as they determine whether to grant a contested case hearing,” Nessel said.
Nessel was pushing for a contested hearing that would allow more scrutiny of the DTE contract.
“I again urge the MPSC to listen to the people of this state, to whom they should feel duty-bound to represent and defend, to do the right thing and deny DTE’s request to approve these special contracts without a full, contested hearing,” she said.
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