West Michigan communities fight for answers about data centers
Communities in West Michigan, including Dowagiac and Marshall, are demanding transparency and answers from data center developers like Hyperscale Data and Alterra. Concerns include environmental impact, water usage, and insufficient zoning, leading to calls for moratoriums and increased public engagement.
Across West Michigan, communities are grappling with data center proposals, which are reshaping the economic and environmental landscape. News Channel 3 highlighted discussions in Cass, Saint Joseph, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Kent counties, where residents are concerned about the lack of details accompanying promises of jobs and tax revenue.
In Dowagiac, Las Vegas-based Hyperscale Data announced it is acquiring more land to double its existing footprint, but Mayor Kevin Myers stated there is no confirmed location, timeline, or formal plan submitted to the city. Myers issued an open letter giving Hyperscale Data 45 days to provide a formal plan, a move publicly supported by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, who have over 500 tribal citizens living in the area and are demanding transparency.
Meanwhile, approximately 70 miles away, Canadian developer Alterra proposed a data center and gas generation plant near Stewart Lake in Marshall's Brooks Nature Area. Marshall's Mayor confirms the developer is in its due diligence phase. Although the land is already zoned for a data center, residents, like one concerned individual, worry that the current industrial zoning is inadequate and advocate for a six-month to one-year moratorium to allow city officials to educate themselves and pass more specific ordinances to regulate data centers and power generation, minimizing environmental and neighborhood impacts. Residents are organizing information sessions and urging community members to write letters and attend local meetings to voice their concerns.