Reporting like this only happens with your financial support. Donate to WKAR today!
Lansing residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on a proposed data center during several upcoming meetings.
The Lansing Board of Water and Light would provide power to the 24-megawatt data center being proposed by Deep Green. In return, the data center would provide carbon-neutral heat for the BWL’s hot water system.
The Lansing City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Feb. 9, following a presentation by Deep Green CEO Mark Lee.
The proposed data center will be discussed during the Lansing City Council’s Jan. 26 meeting, with representatives from Deep Green and the Lansing Board of Water and Light expected to be available to answer questions.
Key dates for Lansing data center proposal:
- Jan. 15: Virtual community engagement session with Deep Green executives
- Jan. 24: In-person community engagement session with Deep Green executives
- Jan. 26: Lansing City Council meeting with discussion of the proposed data center; Deep Green and BWL expected to be available for questions
- Feb. 9: Deep Green CEO presentation to the Lansing City Council
- Feb. 9: Public hearing on data center proposal at Lansing City Council
- Feb. 23: Possible votes on sale of city parking lot and rezoning request in Lansing City Council
Council members could vote on requests to sell a city parking lot to Deep Green and rezone the land to allow a data center during their Feb. 23 meeting.
Deep Green executives will hold a virtual community engagement event Thursday evening, followed by an in-person session Saturday morning at the Lansing Center.
City officials are also considering a plan that would dedicate 10% of revenue the Lansing Board of Water and Light receives from data center utility use to fund housing support services, tying together two of the city’s most discussed issues.
The funds could be used to help prevent residents from losing their homes, assist unhoused community members with finding stable housing or to develop new housing.
The Fledge CEO Jerry Norris said he is concerned relying on data centers to fund housing solutions could make controversial data center projects harder to resist.
“It sets a precedent that, hey, we’re accepting all data centers, and I don’t think we should accept this one,” Norris said.
While data centers have proven controversial throughout Michigan, Lansing resident Brad Clark said the project would show Lansing is willing to embrace new technologies.
“I think this project is really the just right data center, big enough to add value, but small enough to fit comfortably within Lansing’s footprint,” Clark said.
