Michigan township rejects data center pitch before talks even begin
The Delhi Township Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to oppose a proposed data center backed by Lighthouse Sustainability and the Lansing Economic Area Partnership. Officials cited strong community opposition and asked developers to stop pursuing the project, which has not yet applied for rezoning and would face an existing township moratorium.
The Delhi Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to oppose a prospective data center on a 423-acre site west of U.S. Highway 127, only days after the Lansing Economic Area Partnership and Colorado-based Lighthouse Sustainability announced they were exploring the project. Township Supervisor Eddie Montemayor said officials would not support data centers in the township, while residents raised concerns about noise, views, environmental effects and the broader impacts of artificial intelligence.
The developers had proposed a more than $10 billion, 1-gigawatt facility with renewable energy, battery storage and closed-loop cooling, potentially generating local tax revenue and jobs. However, the site is not currently zoned industrial, no rezoning application has been filed, and Delhi Township is operating under a 12-month data center moratorium that expires in April. The township also ended its partnership with LEAP, while project backers said they would continue gathering public input and could abandon the proposal if community support remains weak.