Bryan Smigielski, Sierra Club of Michigan, said the planned power plants will likely serve electricity requirements of data centers and called for transparent modeling of future energy needs with and without data centers
Data centers in Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County has 2 data centers on the record: 2 proposed. No county rule about data centers is on the record for Washtenaw County itself; 1 body inside it has a scorecard row, and a pause on new data centers is on the record. The latest decision on the record: Ypsilanti City Council reviewed proposed data center regulations on Sept. 15 covering noise, water, energy use and oversight; small data center limited to 20,000 square feet, 5 megawatts power, 20,000 gallons cooling water per day; open loop cooling prohibited (Ypsilanti), September 15, 2026.
How to read this page. Every count comes from the records on this page and links to where it is counted. Nothing is published until a person reads its source, and a figure no source gives reads Not disclosed; nothing is estimated. A rating changes only when a person sets it.
The 2 data centers in Washtenaw County
Newest activity firstEach row is one site with its stage, its latest dated entry and what its sources disclose. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed.
Ypsilanti Township / University of Michigan & Los Alamos Data Center
Ypsilanti Township, Washtenaw County · University of Michigan / Los Alamos National Laboratory
Latest, reported September 14, 2026: University of Michigan confirmed it will build its data center in Hydro Park near a local elementary school. inthesetimes.com local outlet
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Tenant
- Not disclosed
Oracle and OpenAI Saline Township Data Center
Washtenaw County · Oracle
Latest, reported August 21, 2026: Saline Township initially voted against rezoning farmland for The Barn; developers sued and township settled. bridgemi.com local outlet
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Tenant
- Not disclosed
Where
Drag with one finger to move the map, pinch to zoom. Tap a pin for the data center, a county for its rules
2 data centers in Washtenaw County: all proposed. A dashed edge means the exact site is not in the public record; every pin here marks a town or the county.
The cities in Washtenaw County on the record (2)
| City | Projects | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Ypsilanti Township | 1 | 0 |
| Ypsilanti | 0 | 1 |
What Washtenaw County has decided
1 body, 2 decisions on the recordWhat the county and the cities in it have done about data centers: each body on its own row with its rating, open, case by case, restrictive or closed, never good or bad, and every vote, ordinance, moratorium or agreement behind its toggle, newest first, with its source.
Reported: the source's date; the item names no day of its own.
- Ypsilanticity
Ypsilanti City Council reviewed proposed data center regulations on Sept. 15 covering noise, water, energy use and oversight; small data center limited to 20,000 square feet, 5 megawatts power, 20,000 gallons cooling water per day; open loop cooling prohibited, September 15, 2026.
2 acts on this row
- ordinance
Ypsilanti City Council reviewed proposed data center regulations on Sept. 15 covering noise, water, energy use and oversight; small data center limited to 20,000 square feet, 5 megawatts power, 20,000 gallons cooling water per day; open loop cooling prohibited.
- moratorium adopted
Ypsilanti City Council preliminarily passed a 60 day emergency data center moratorium, pending final vote.
- ordinance
What happened
-
· Ypsilanti
Ordinance: Ypsilanti City Council reviewed proposed data center regulations on Sept. 15 covering noise, water, energy use and oversight; small data center limited to 20,000 square feet, 5 megawatts power, 20,000 gallons cooling water per day; open loop cooling prohibited. thesuntimesnews.com local outlet
-
· Ypsilanti
Moratorium adopted: Ypsilanti City Council preliminarily passed a 60 day emergency data center moratorium, pending final vote. inthesetimes.com local outlet
-
· Oracle and OpenAI Saline Township Data Center
Now reported: Related Digital purchased Rustic Glen Golf Club, an 18 hole public course in Saline Township cbsnews.com national outlet
-
· Ypsilanti Township / University of Michigan & Los Alamos Data Center
Now reported: U M officials indicated they may make final decision between Textile Road site and former General Motors site near Willow Run in coming days wemu.org local outlet
What was said
Joi Harris, DTE Energy president and CEO, said the plan would be $3.5 billion less expensive than the company's previous IRP from 2022
Sierra Club of Michigan said Oracle, building a mega data center in Saline Township, is rated BBB minus, just above junk bonds
Dingell said the project warrants additional scrutiny due to site's environmental history and asked for details on remaining contamination, monitoring, restrictions, permits and cleanup responsibility
Every Michigan statement, by speaker
29 more statements on this page
Bryan Smigielski
Sierra Club of Michigan asked Michigan Public Service Commission to require DTE to model future energy needs with no data centers and compare to future energy needs including data centers
Natalie Ravitz, Related Companies spokesperson
Related Companies says Friedrichs received zero commission from the Related Digital data center project and is no longer working on Michigan projects as of March 2026.
Michigan gubernatorial candidate
Jocelyn Benson's husband, Ryan Friedrichs, earned $370,000 in 2025 as an employee of Related Companies, which is developing the Saline Township data center.
U.S. Representative
Dingell called for state and federal rules governing large computing facilities including protections for utility customers, public reporting of water and electricity demand, environmental reviews and enforceable community benefit agreements
U.S. Representative
Dingell questioned promised $300 million contribution from Los Alamos and whether federal money has been appropriated or federally committed
Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer has championed the data center and likened Michigan's AI investments to propping up a new version of Michigan's auto industry
Michigan Congressman and Republican
John James, a congressman and Republican, supports a moratorium on the construction of new data centers in Michigan
Los Alamos National Laboratory Director
Los Alamos Director Thom Mason said the center would not produce weapons or use or store nuclear materials and some computer modeling could help assess the safety and reliability of the nation's existing nuclear stockpile
Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for governor
Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor and the most likely politician to replace her next year, now supports a moratorium on the construction of new data centers in Michigan
U.S. Representative
Rep. Dingell opposes building the Los Alamos research computing center at the Textile Road site in Ypsilanti Township
Hazleton protesters
Protesters rallied in Hazleton, Pennsylvania on August 12 calling on Rep. Rob Bresnahan to oppose data center expansion and reject Big Tech contributions.
New York City protesters
More than 300 people rallied in front of Palantir office in New York City on August 12 calling on Congress to oppose the company.
Authors (reporting consensus)
Majority of Americans oppose data centers and Democratic and Republican candidates are being forced to take a stand.
Stephanie Jordan and Mary Armas
More than 1,000 activists across the country participated in dozens of rallies and protests in August demanding elected officials dump Big Tech and data center developers.
Young people protesters
Young people in Union County, New Jersey marched on August 13 to protest Rep. Tom Kean Jr. for accepting thousands of dollars from Big Tech AI firms.
Michigan Economic Development Corporation will not disclose which companies apply for data center tax incentives, citing confidentiality
University of Michigan stated the computing center remains in the design phase and water needs and noise levels have not been determined
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos officials said no weapons, plutonium or hazardous materials would be produced or stored at the facility
2026 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Michigan
El Sayed calls for state and local moratorium on data centers until conditions are met
2026 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Michigan
Abdul El Sayed states his conditions for University of Michigan data center: all union labor, no utility rate increases, no water use, revenue investment in reliability, and community benefits agreement
Oakland University engineering professor
Chris Kobus noted that Michigan has perfect conditions for data centers including power infrastructure, cooling infrastructure with water availability, and internet backbone
Oakland University engineering professor
Chris Kobus, engineering professor at Oakland University, said there has been an explosion of activism against data centers in Michigan this calendar year
Saline Township resident
Timothy from Saline Township stated strong opposition to AI in all its forms and called data centers a waste of resources
York Township resident
Mike MacDonald from York Township expressed concern about the massive use of rural land and unknown water and electricity draw from data centers
Bridge Michigan reporting
Only one official, Elaine Ferris, will face a vote in November to remove her from office over data center votes.
Related Digital committed to keeping Rustic Glen Golf Club open to public play
Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo says residents and officials will continue to fight the project and are optimistic about stopping it given that other communities have stopped data centers
Ypsilanti Township Attorney Doug Winters says township will not negotiate with U M and Los Alamos over the project and their only goal is for them to leave
Disclosed figures
nothing disclosed by 2 records
Power, water, jobs and tax
| Figure | Disclosed total | Disclosed | Not disclosed | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Water, stated per day | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Water, stated per year | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Permanent jobs | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Tax each year | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records |
Summed only where a record disclosed the figure; a record with no figure adds nothing and is counted as not disclosed. Water is summed per day and per year separately, as the sources stated it, and never converted. A tax claim given as a range is summed at both ends.
By what the facilities are for
| Use | Records | Power | Water | Jobs | Tax each year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | 2 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed: power, water, jobs, tax each year |
A record that lists several uses counts once under each. Each cell is the sum over the records with that use, disclosed rows only.
What the facilities are for
No source on file states what any of the 2 tracked facilities in Washtenaw County are for.
How the facilities are cooled
No source on file states how any of the 2 tracked facilities in Washtenaw County are cooled.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data centers in Washtenaw County, Michigan", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/mi/washtenaw-county, updated September 25, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data center records in Washtenaw County, Michigan", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/mi/washtenaw-county. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
The rows here are part of the Michigan export.
For researchers
- Place id
- us/mi/washtenaw-county
- Level
- county
- Census GEOID
- Not disclosed
- Rating value
- Not disclosed
- Scale word
- Not disclosed