January 11, 2026
Note: We will be adding a new feature. Identifying potential data centers at risk of obsolescence early in the process due primarily to distributed AI. As our dataset grows and becomes more encompassing, this will likely be an external graphic representation.
Executive Summary
Michigan’s data center debate entered new territory this week as political candidates staked positions and Attorney General Dana Nessel challenged the state’s fast-track approval process. While Meta signed multi-gigawatt nuclear deals nationally, Michigan communities organized protests, passed moratoriums, and forced developers to pause. The disconnect: massive infrastructure commitments continue even as communities demand accountability.
MICHIGAN INTELLIGENCE
El-Sayed Stakes Data Center Position in Senate Race
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed released an eight-point “terms of engagement” framework Thursday that would require data centers to meet strict community protections before receiving approval in Michigan.
The Policy Framework:
- No rate hikes: Data centers pay for their own energy demand; costs cannot pass to ratepayers
- Community transparency: Residents get meaningful role in approvals and benefit negotiations
- Energy reliability guarantees: Projects fund enforceable grid improvements
- Jobs guarantees: Financial penalties if promised local jobs don’t materialize
- Water protection: Closed-loop systems to prevent pollution and resource stress
- Clean energy compliance: No loopholes to sidestep Michigan’s 100% clean energy by 2040 goal
- Binding community benefits: Tangible upgrades to grid, water treatment, infrastructure
- Enforceable penalties: Actionable consequences for violations
Political Context: El-Sayed (former Detroit and Wayne County health director) is competing in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. He emphasized he has not accepted campaign contributions from utility companies—unlike his opponents, who supported tax exemptions for data centers without enforceable protections.
The Stakes: At least 15 data center proposals across Michigan, including the 1.4-gigawatt Saline facility that would consume more electricity than the entire city of Detroit.
El-Sayed’s framing: “Democrats are too often bought off by the very same corporations that buy off Republicans. These terms of engagement represent the bare minimum that data center projects should be able to guarantee if they want to move into our communities.”
Sources: Planet Detroit, Michigan Advance, Detroit Metro Times, The ‘Gander (Jan 8-9)
Attorney General Challenges Fast-Track Saline Approval
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a petition for rehearing Friday with the Michigan Public Service Commission, challenging the fast-track approval of DTE Energy’s contracts for the Oracle/OpenAI/Related Digital data center in Saline Township.
What Nessel is Challenging:
- MPSC’s authority to approve contracts without contested case hearing
- Heavily redacted contracts (“almost a farce”—public can’t see who signed or contract terms)
- Unclear consumer protection conditions
- DTE serving as financial “backstop” without sufficient collateral requirements
- 30-day timeline for DTE acceptance complicates legal challenges
The Contracts:
- 19-year power supply contract through 2045 (4x typical duration for large industrial users)
- 1.4 gigawatt facility consuming power equivalent to 1 million homes (23-28% increase in DTE’s average daily load)
- $2.3 billion minimum payment from Oracle subsidiary Green Chile even if no electricity used
- Optional extensions: Two 10-year extensions (potentially 39 years total)
Financial Risk Flags:
- OpenAI lost $5 billion on revenue of $3.7 billion in 2024
- $7.8 billion operating loss in first half of 2025
- Company projects profitability by 2029
- AG petition notes MPSC didn’t assess financial risks from Oracle/OpenAI
⚠️ OBSOLESCENCE RISK QUESTION: Contract runs through 2045 (potentially 2065 with extensions). If Anyway Systems’ research on distributed computing proves out—80-90% of AI inference running on local infrastructure by 2028-2030—Michigan ratepayers could be locked into subsidizing obsolete infrastructure for decades. MPSC approval didn’t assess this technology obsolescence risk alongside financial risks.
Political Tension: Nessel’s challenge pits her against fellow Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who celebrated the project as “the largest economic project in Michigan history” citing construction jobs.
Public Opposition: More than 5,000 online comments submitted opposing the contracts before MPSC’s December 18 approval. Commission defended decision, saying it imposed “the strongest consumer protections for a data center power contract in the country.”
Nessel’s Statement: “This was an irresponsible approach that cut corners and shut out the public and their advocates. Granting approval of these contracts ex parte serves only the interests of DTE and the billion-dollar businesses involved, like Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Companies, not the Michigan public the Commission is meant to protect.”
Sources: Crain’s Detroit, Detroit News, Detroit Metro Times, Michigan AG Office, Bridge Michigan (Jan 9-10)
Allen Park Postpones Data Center Decision After Protest
Allen Park Planning Commission voted Thursday night to postpone approval of a 26-megawatt Solstice Data center after more than 125 residents packed a four-hour meeting opposing the project.
The Project:
- 45,000 square feet on Enterprise Drive south of I-94
- Part of Solstice Data’s planned “cluster” of Metro Detroit facilities
- Q1 2027 opening target
- 25 permanent jobs, 200 construction jobs
- $6.2-7.4 million annual property tax revenue
Why Postponed: Commission requested additional noise study, fire department evaluation, and input from adjacent communities. Vote to postpone: 6-1 (Commissioner Fred Frank sole no vote).
Community Concerns: Approximately 40 residents spoke during public comment—almost all in opposition. Key issues:
- Electric bill increases (Michigan Senate candidate Abbas Alawieh: “There is an elephant in the room: will this raise our rates?”)
- Noise pollution affecting surrounding neighborhoods
- Air and water pollution in area already in 78th percentile for environmental burden
- Heat generation not recycled
- Support for harmful AI technology
- Limited job creation for scale of impact
Developer Response: Solstice Data representatives said facility will be “edge data center” (not AI model training), use closed-loop cooling (no municipal water draw), and available DTE substation capacity exists. Senior VP David Gibson characterized needed infrastructure as “a big extension cord” from substation.
⚠️ OBSOLESCENCE RISK FLAG: Solstice Data explicitly described this as “edge data center” for applications “where the data center needs to be close to the user”—self-driving cars, factory automation, traffic light timing. This is precisely the 80-90% of AI inference workloads that Anyway Systems research shows can run efficiently on distributed infrastructure. Community is potentially approving 20+ year property tax deal ($6.2-7.4M annually) for workload that may not require centralized facility by 2028-2030.
Organized Opposition: Downriver United 734 organized pre-meeting protest. Co-founder Jessica Schering: “The waste that is coming in terms of electricity, water, noise—is this really what the community needs?”
What’s Next: Commission will review additional studies and gather community input before reconsidering. No new meeting date set.
Sources: Planet Detroit, ClickOnDetroit, WXYZ (Jan 8-10)
Springfield Township Passes 180-Day Data Center Moratorium
Springfield Township (Oakland County) Board of Trustees approved a 180-day moratorium in December prohibiting data center plans from being “accepted for review, considered, approved, or otherwise allowed” while officials develop comprehensive regulations.
Trigger: “Long-established data center development group” expressed interest in 84-acre tract in Andersonville Road area for 2-3 buildings of 250,000 square feet each.
Supervisor Ric Davis’s Requirements for Future Consideration:
- Environmental impact study (air quality, wildlife, stormwater, soil, vegetation, impacts beyond site)
- Generator emissions metrics
- Noise analysis
- Erosion control plans
- Municipal water/sewer capacity verification (Springfield doesn’t have municipal systems)
Davis Statement: “This moratorium ensures we are planning from a position of strength, not reacting under pressure. Some communities have had data centers arrive before they sufficiently planned for them. That won’t happen here. We will make sure any development aligns with our values of safety, sustainability, and community-first governance.”
During Moratorium: Planning Commission will:
- Amend zoning ordinance
- Establish where data centers can be located
- Set construction and cybersecurity standards
- Protect residential areas from impacts
- Ensure emergency preparedness requirements
- Require environmental and utility studies
Moratorium Extension: Board may extend if more time needed.
Broader Context: Springfield joins Pittsfield Township, Howell Township, and Ypsilanti Township in passing data center moratoriums or restrictions. Howell Township’s $1 billion proposal was withdrawn after community opposition.
Sources: GovTech, Detroit News (Jan 7)
Microsoft Reveals Lowell Township Interest, Pauses Application
Microsoft identified itself Wednesday as the company behind a proposed data center in Lowell Charter Township (near Grand Rapids) after weeks of speculation, then immediately asked the developer to pause the rezoning process.
The Reveal: Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure team published letter to township after December 8 planning commission meeting was shut down by protesting residents who packed the chambers.
Microsoft Statement: “We are introducing ourselves now because we have observed that the community would like more information about the proposal, and we believe it is important to be transparent about our intentions moving forward. We asked the seller to pause the rezone process so that we could spend time with the community early this year and share more about our potential long-term plans before we proceed.”
The Project:
- 237-acre lot in Covenant Business Park beside I-96
- Currently zoned industrial planned unit development
- Needs rezoning to light industrial to proceed
- $500 million to $1 billion investment over 3-5 years
- Lot has sat empty due to lack of water/sewer services
Community Concerns: Residents cited lack of clarity on energy requirements and township moving too quickly on rezoning without sufficient information.
Township Response: Supervisor Jerry Hale: “Our community welcomes more information and the opportunity to engage with Microsoft in the coming months, so residents and businesses learn more about its intent to build a data center in the township.”
Water/Energy Assurances:
- Township has agreement with city of Lowell for increased water plant capacity “at no additional cost to rate payers”
- Consumers Energy has stated data centers will not lead to higher electricity rates
Timeline: Planning Commission canceled January 12 public hearing. Developer Franklin Lowell LLC requested “indefinite suspension” of application until ready to resume. Microsoft committed to attending upcoming township board meetings.
Microsoft Context: CEO Satya Nadella told analysts in October the company plans to nearly double its data center portfolio size in next two years.
Sources: CNBC, Shoreline Media, Shorelinemedia.net (Jan 7-8)
INFRASTRUCTURE OBSOLESCENCE RISK
Anyway Systems: 80-90% of AI Inference Runs Locally
Swiss researchers at Anyway Systems demonstrated January 2 that 80-90% of AI inference workloads run efficiently on just 4-10 networked computers, with 30-minute installation time and no gigawatt power requirements. This breakthrough mirrors the 1995 shift when local ISPs proved “you don’t need mainframes for internet.”
Why This Matters for Communities:
Michigan townships are approving 19-39 year contracts (Saline’s DTE deal runs through 2045) for infrastructure that could become obsolete within 3-5 years once distributed computing crosses the “good enough AND cheaper” threshold.
Which Data Centers Are Vulnerable?
HIGH OBSOLESCENCE RISK (80-90% of AI workloads):
- Edge data centers – Solstice Data explicitly described Allen Park facility as “edge data center” not for AI model training
- Inference-only facilities – Running AI models rather than training them
- Sub-100 MW facilities – Distributed computing handles this scale
- Generic AI workloads – Chatbots, recommendation engines, content moderation
LOWER RISK (Specialized workloads):
- Model training facilities – Still requires massive parallel compute (for now)
- Hyperscale 1+ GW facilities – Like Saline’s 1.4 GW Oracle/OpenAI project (though even this is questionable)
- High-performance computing – Scientific simulation, research computing
The Critical Question Communities Should Ask:
“What percentage of this facility’s planned workload is AI inference versus model training?”
If the answer is “mostly inference” or “edge computing,” the community is potentially approving 20+ year tax deals for infrastructure that distributed computing could make obsolete by 2028-2030.
Allen Park Example: Solstice Data said facility will be “edge data center” facilitating “self-driving cars, factory automation, and traffic light timing”—exactly the use cases Anyway Systems’ research shows can run on distributed infrastructure. Community approved $6.2-7.4M annual property tax revenue on 20+ year timeline for workloads that may not need centralized data centers within 5 years.
Saline Example: Oracle/OpenAI’s 1.4 GW facility has 19-year contract (through 2045) with two optional 10-year extensions (potentially through 2065). If distributed computing becomes viable for inference by 2030, Michigan ratepayers could be locked into subsidizing obsolete infrastructure for decades.
What Grid Operators Know: PJM Interconnection (Mid-Atlantic grid operator) is downgrading demand forecasts—suggesting grid operators are skeptical about aggressive data center deployment timelines. They may be factoring in obsolescence risk that developers aren’t disclosing to communities.
Sources: Anyway Systems (Jan 2), Allen Park planning documents (Jan 9), Saline DTE contracts (Dec 18), PJM capacity forecasts
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Meta Signs Multi-Gigawatt Nuclear Deals
Meta announced agreements Thursday with multiple energy companies for several gigawatts of new nuclear generation capacity to power AI data centers. Specific project details, locations, and timelines were not disclosed, but scale indicates 10-15 year development timeline for new nuclear construction.
Context: These agreements continue the pattern of hyperscale AI infrastructure commitments on decade-plus timelines even as distributed computing alternatives emerge.
PJM Capacity Costs: $23.1 Billion for 2025-2026
PJM Interconnection’s December capacity auction allocated $23.1 billion in costs to ratepayers for the 2025-2026 delivery year, with $6.5 billion from the December auction alone.
Data Center Impact: Approximately $6.2 billion of total costs tied to facilities not yet constructed, as utilities reserve capacity for anticipated data center load growth.
Grid Operator Skepticism: PJM has begun downgrading demand forecasts—signaling grid operators don’t believe aggressive data center deployment timelines.
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
DeepSeek R1 Coding Model Release
Chinese AI company DeepSeek released R1 coding model Thursday (January 9), positioning it as competitor to OpenAI’s models. Early benchmarks show strong performance on programming tasks at lower computational cost.
Significance: Demonstrates continued rapid advancement in AI capabilities outside U.S. tech giants’ control.
ARM Reorganizes for “Physical AI”
ARM Holdings announced organizational restructuring Tuesday (January 7) creating dedicated “Physical AI” division focused on robotics, autonomous vehicles, and edge computing applications.
Market Signal: Chip designers betting on AI moving from data centers to devices, vehicles, and robots—supporting distributed computing thesis.
China Announces 1 Trillion Yuan AI Investment
Chinese government announced Monday (January 6) 1 trillion yuan (~$137 billion USD) AI infrastructure investment program through 2027, including data centers, chip manufacturing, and research facilities.
Geopolitical Context: Continues AI infrastructure arms race between U.S. and China despite U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips.
EMPLOYMENT IMPACT
Michigan WARN Notices
Two new Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices filed in Michigan:
GM Factory Zero (Detroit/Hamtramck):
- 1,140 workers
- Effective date: January 5, 2026
- Facility: Electric vehicle assembly plant
- Context: GM scaling back EV production amid slower-than-expected demand
Yanfeng Automotive (Romulus):
- 192 workers
- Effective date: January 5, 2026
- Reason: Work consolidation to other Yanfeng facilities
- Context: Automotive supplier restructuring
Pattern: Manufacturing continues bleeding jobs as AI infrastructure investment accelerates—the employment mismatch Angela tracks in Under the Radar newsletter.
UPCOMING EVENTS TO WATCH
Van Buren Township Vote – January 14
Van Buren Township (Washtenaw County) holds crucial vote Tuesday, January 14 on proposed data center project. Meeting expected to draw large crowd after Saline, Allen Park, and other Michigan communities’ contentious approval processes.
What to Watch:
- Whether township follows fast-track approval or demands contested hearing
- Community turnout and organized opposition
- Developer concessions on water, energy, community benefits
BOTTOM LINE
Michigan is becoming the testing ground for whether communities can negotiate data center deals from position of strength—or whether fast-track approvals and secret contracts become the norm. El-Sayed’s Senate campaign bet that data center accountability resonates with voters will test whether the issue has political legs beyond local zoning fights.
The Obsolescence Question Nobody’s Asking: Communities are approving 19-39 year contracts (Saline through 2045-2065) for infrastructure that Anyway Systems research suggests could be obsolete within 3-5 years. Allen Park explicitly approved an “edge data center” for the exact workloads (self-driving cars, factory automation, traffic signals) that distributed computing can handle on 4-10 networked computers. Springfield Township’s moratorium approach—pause, study, regulate—may be the only way communities avoid locking in obsolete infrastructure subsidies for decades.
The meta-story: Massive long-term infrastructure commitments continue (Meta nuclear deals, China’s $137B program) even as communities demand pause for proper planning AND breakthrough research shows most AI workloads don’t need centralized facilities. Grid operators quietly downgrading forecasts suggest institutional skepticism about whether all this promised capacity will actually materialize on promised timelines—or whether distributed computing will disrupt deployment before facilities come online.
For communities: Springfield Township’s approach—moratorium first, comprehensive regulations second, approvals only after full transparency—offers alternative model to Saline’s lawsuit-triggered settlement. Critical addition: Communities should demand technology obsolescence assessments alongside environmental and financial impact studies. Question to ask: “What percentage of this facility’s workload is AI inference versus training, and what happens to our tax deal if distributed computing becomes viable in 5 years?”
For workers: 1,332 Michigan manufacturing jobs lost this week (GM, Yanfeng) while construction jobs for data centers remain temporary. The permanent job numbers from data centers (25 for Allen Park, hundreds for Saline) don’t replace lost manufacturing employment. If distributed computing disrupts centralized data centers, even those limited permanent jobs disappear.
For ratepayers: AG Nessel’s challenge to secret DTE contracts is critical test of whether utility customers get meaningful protection or simply assurances. Her filing notes OpenAI’s $5B loss on $3.7B revenue—questioning financial viability of anchor tenant. But nobody’s questioning whether the infrastructure itself remains necessary if distributed computing proves viable.
WHAT PIVOTINTEL IS WATCHING
- Van Buren Township vote (January 14) – Will they follow Saline’s fast-track or Springfield’s moratorium model? Do they ask about obsolescence risk?
- MPSC response to Nessel’s petition – Does commission defend fast-track process or grant rehearing? Outcome sets precedent for Michigan’s other 14+ pending proposals.
- El-Sayed’s primary campaign – Do data center terms of engagement gain traction in Democratic primary (Aug 4)? If voters reward accountability stance, other candidates will follow.
- Allen Park reconvened meeting – When commission reconvenes with additional studies, will Solstice Data make concessions or walk away? Will anyone ask about obsolescence risk for “edge data center”?
- Microsoft’s Lowell Township “community engagement” – Will transparency pause lead to better negotiated outcome, or just delay tactics before resuming original proposal?
- PJM demand forecast updates (expected late January) – How much do grid operators downgrade data center load projections? Magnitude of cuts signals confidence in deployment timelines—and may reflect distributed computing disruption expectations.
- Distributed computing developments – Any additional research validating Anyway Systems findings? Commercial deployments of distributed AI infrastructure? These developments could accelerate obsolescence timeline for centralized facilities.
Next Issue: PivotIntel Weekly #9 – Sunday, January 18, 2026
Intelligence gathering continues. Communities need facts, not promises.
PivotIntel Weekly Intelligence Report provides real-time tracking of AI infrastructure development, policy changes, and community response across Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Published by The Open Record L3C.
