DTE says it is negotiating roughly 3 gigawatts in additional data center projects, with at least one large agreement expected soon. As utilities move ahead, Michigan communities continue drafting zoning rules and weighing moratoriums.

A petition effort to force a public vote on Mason’s data center ordinance enters its final weekend, with organizers racing to meet the required signature threshold.

A proposed data center that would be built in downtown Lansing was met with opposition from around 200 concerned residents who showed up to a Lansing city council meeting Monday night.

Mason City Council members voted to approve an ordinance regulating things like noise emissions, building screening and setback for data centers.

A Lansing city councilmember proposed using a portion of potential data center revenue to fund housing services. The city could learn from one Virginia county where that’s already a reality.

Lansing residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on a proposed data center during several upcoming meetings.

The proposed ordinance would dedicate 10% of revenue the Lansing Board of Water and Light receives from data center utility use to fund housing support services.

Mason is getting ahead of potential data center projects by drafting an ordinance before any proposals arrive. City leaders say they’ve watched other Mid-Michigan communities get overwhelmed, and they want clearer standards for noise, water use and building size. A series of public meetings and open houses will give residents a chance to help shape the rules.

The Board of Water and Light is backtracking on a resolution that would have weakened the board's ability to weigh in on decisions with data centers and give more power to the utility management.

MSU professor Doug Bessette researches the reasons why communities support or oppose renewable energy development. Some of this work could be applied to data centers.