WHITEHALL — White Lake Community Library saw a sizable audience of nearly 40 people for Tuesday's information session on the basics of AI data centers, their functions and the power local governments can have over their construction.
The presentation was given by Marissa McGlue, member of the Chemours Environmental Impact Committee and the White River Township planning commission, with research by Connie Crancer, local environmental educator.
The audience included local public officials, business owners, and even high school students. AI data centers have become a topical issue in Michigan on both the state and local levels.
“Eight months ago, I never had said the words ‘data center’ more than four times in my whole life,” said McGlue in her introduction.
During the presentation, McGlue explained not only the recent boom in AI data center construction, but also shared some common misconceptions.
Data centers on the whole are not a new concept. They’ve been a commonplace construction since the 1990s and the expansion of the Internet, housing all the digital information now needing storage. At the dawn of the digital age, data could be stored in relatively small quarters, but with the advent of technologies such as social media and streaming services, that data storage has grown exponentially. The Cloud, despite its misleading name, is not some digital aether, but rather a collection of physical warehouses filled with computer processors that store all the information necessary to function.
Every photo shared to Facebook, video on YouTube, or TV series on Netflix necessitates what are referred to as “hyper-scale” data centers, which McGlue explained can be as large as 1.6 million square feet, and require just as many kilowatts of power. AI - which needs massive amounts of data to store, process, learn and interface with to work effectively - is yet another digital venture which requires large amounts of digital storage, which is why the industry has grown of late.
“This is not new news. It's ramped-up news, because of these hyper-scale data centers [and] the push for AI,” explained McGlue.
This rapid expansion of AI as an industry doesn’t just come from the tech companies developing it, as the federal government has taken an interest in this “AI race” among other nations. Not only that, but much of our government’s critical infrastructure relies on information stored in hyper-scale data centers, and with the implementation of AI, it’s only expanding.
On the state level, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has helped pave legislation providing tax incentives that make Michigan a desirable place to construct these facilities, hoping to reinvigorate the state’s industrial legacy.
“AI [data] centers are shopping states, and they’re shopping states, in part, for tax exemptions,” McGlue said.
Michigan is already attractive because of its open spaces, hookups to electrical transmission lines, and cool winters, so tax incentives help give Michigan an edge over other, more western states. However, as developers showed interest and headway in construction in Michigan, local residents and public officials have pushed back.
While certainly a controversial topic, Tuesday’s presentation was not intended to take a side on the matter. As such, McGlue explained why data centers could be desirable for an area, and just as many reasons as to why they might be detrimental. For instance, with hyper-scale data centers, there is a significant boost to local property value and taxes, but that boost may quickly deteriorate as the technological equipment becomes outdated. There are also concerns regarding the environmental impact, as large amounts of water or air conditioning are required to cool the computers. However, many of these AI center developers are touting innovations which may allow them to be more eco-friendly.
Another facet is that of job creation. Construction would promote a substantial amount of direct and indirect jobs. However, once they’re running, data centers require significantly less manpower to operate. These are just a few of the talking points regarding the impact of data centers on local communities.
The greatest misconceptions, however, revolve around how municipalities can protect themselves from not just data centers, but any invasive industrial development.
“You can’t just say, ‘No, we’re not going to (allow you to build them," McGlue said. "It’s against the law. It doesn’t provide you any protection or provide guardrails. So just to say we’re not allowing them doesn’t fly, so since you have to do something, how might you do it?”
Saline Township in southeast Michigan, one of the notable municipalities currently fighting the construction of a hyper-scale data center, had no ordinances regarding construction and resource use.
“[Saline Township] kind of got caught with their pants down… they did not have any guardrails,” Crancer explained.
The strategy recommended in the presentation is simple; either install local ordinances to ensure data centers are a non-invasive and beneficial industry in the community, or make it difficult to construct anything of that scale in general. As the presenters and audience members pointed out, this strategy goes for any industrial development, not just data centers. Either way, the goal is to be proactive rather than reactive.
Several members of the audience sat on city or township boards and committees, making this advice especially pertinent. Likewise, several business owners and even an employee from Consumers Energy gave their expertise on the numerous possibilities that can come from strategically applied ordinances. As one attendee put it, “You have to write your own adventure. You can’t just wait around for them to come and tell you that.”
The audience also included several Montague High School chemistry students, who were recommended to attend and report on the presentation for extra credit, and were even active participants in the discussion.
“I’m really glad I came," said one such student. "I learned a lot.”
As it stands now, no companies have publicly expressed interest in purchasing land in the White Lake area for the purpose of developing a hyper-scale data center, nor is it clear that there is much local space for constructions of this size. Regardless, McGlue advised, “That does not preclude the need for discussion and or ordinances.”
For McGlue and Crancer, the presentation given is just the beginning of what they wish to be an evolving, community-wide education, and audience members were asked to see if their municipalities were interested in receiving the information. What is certain is that the need for communities to protect themselves through local ordinances will never go away, regardless of what new, shiny development is on the horizon.
