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The Lansing Planning Commission is recommending City Council members approve a rezoning request for a data center development downtown, reversing course on a previous vote against recommending approval.
Commission members voted 5-2 Tuesday in favor of the request by Deep Green to develop a 24-megawatt data center.
The planning commission voted 4-3 in December against recommending approval of the rezoning request.
But a new request was submitted to incorporate commitments the company made throughout the public hearing process on topics like noise limits and the building’s design.
Three commissioners who previously voted against the request switched to recommending approval during this week’s meeting, including Commissioner John Ruge.
“In rethinking this and looking more closely at the whole block that this thing is on and what the other uses are, and the fact that this thing is so environmentally friendly compared to other data centers, I have to say that I have changed my mind on it,” Ruge said.
Commissioners Monte Jackson and Spencer Lippert also voted to recommend approval of the request after previously voting against the rezoning in December.
Commissioners Ted O’Dell and Shane Muchmore voted in favor of the request both Tuesday and in December. O’Dell cited support for labor unions while casting his vote.
Commissioner Tim Klont, who voted affirmatively in December, was absent at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Commissioner Anthony Cox was absent at the December meeting. He paused for two minutes during Tuesday’s roll call vote before deciding to vote against recommending approval.
Commissioner Katie Alexander maintained her no vote from December during Tuesday’s meeting but said her opposition isn’t because it’s a data center.
"I have concerns about an industrial use in the downtown core," Alexander said. "And I would for probably any use. I still feel that way tonight."
Some residents raised concerns about a planned fuel cell facility to be operated by Bloom Energy, which would generate about two-thirds of the data center’s energy from natural gas using chemical reactions rather than combustion.
“Despite what Deep Green would have you believe, this plant would be polluting,” Ivan Droste said. “We would be building a natural gas plant right downtown in an era of worsening climate change and volatile natural gas prices.”
Lansing Board of Water and Light Assistant General Manager Heather Shawa said the BWL was already exploring the fuel cell technology as part of its strategic plan and its plan to comply with state regulations requiring 60% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% renewable energy by 2040.
“The technology is not new,” Shawa said. “It may be new to the Board. It may be new to the state of Michigan. However, it’s not new.”
Jack Pressman, the development manager for the facility, said the fuel cell plant would release much less carbon than a power plant that uses combustion.
If Deep Green were to leave the site, Shawa said, the company would be on the hook to cover the cost of decommissioning the technology.
Nichole Keway Biber, mid-Michigan campaign organizer for Clean Water Action, expressed concern about the lack of environmental studies.
“If someone came to your door and said, hey, just sign on to this, and then afterwards we’ll get to the details, you’d think it was a scam,” Keway Biber said.
Some residents expressed concern about water use by the proposed data center.
Rob Stolpestad, a member of the project’s development team, said the data center would use about 500,000 gallons of water per year, which he said is roughly equivalent to a small restaurant and is less than some data centers would use in a single day.
Pressman said the facility may end up using less than the 500,000 gallon per year estimate. The water-glycol mixture used for cooling would be provided and disposed of off-site by Dow Chemical.
Lansing resident Sidney McCalib said previous generations worked in factories because they wanted to push American manufacturing forward and predicted data centers will serve a similar role for the next generation.
“I think it’s exciting that my kids will be able to grow up and see this data center and wonder what that data center does,” McCalib said. “I think that will galvanize them and encourage them to be a part of the future, which is working in things like AI and information technology.”
