Overview:
- The Raeden data center would use 30-35 diesel generators that could support DTE's grid during peak summer demand, developer says.
- Residents say they're concerned about ratepayer protections and impacts on the Humbug Marsh ecosystem.
- "I'm afraid that the project probably is still moving ahead, unbeknownst to many of us," says Gibraltar resident Lenore Bolthouse.
Around 150 people showed up for a town hall meeting on a proposed 100-megawatt Gibraltar data center Wednesday night, with many voicing concern about potential impacts to air quality, electricity bills, and the nearby Humbug Marsh.
The Gibraltar City Council passed a one-year data center moratorium on Monday to give the city time to prepare for such facilities.
The moratorium applies to project developer Raeden’s proposed 100 MW data center and other potential data centers, Councilmember Cody Dill told Planet Detroit. It’s a blanket moratorium across the city, he said.
Raeden Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Jason Green told Planet Detroit that he hopes to convince the city council to rescind the moratorium, but the company may seek a waiver, for which the moratorium allows.
When asked whether the company would consider suing the township to advance the project, Green said he doesn’t like litigation.
“If we can’t gain community support, then there’s no reason for us to be here,” he said.
Generators could support grid on high demand days
During Wednesday’s town hall, Green said the data center will have 30-35 backup diesel generators to provide power during an outage.
These generators could potentially be used to support DTE Energy’s grid during peak demand days in the summer, he said.
A Virginia proposal to use generators to support the grid on a much larger scale, using the region’s numerous data centers and generators, was halted over concerns it could drastically increase air pollution.
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Why it matters
A proposed data center in Gibraltar would demand as much electricity as 80,000 homes and is located at a former McLouth Steel site near the Humbug Marsh wildlife area.
Who's making public decisions
The City of Gibraltar has authority over the data center moratorium and any potential waivers that would allow the project to proceed.
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What to watch for next
Watch whether developer Raeden applies for a a waiver of the one-year data center moratorium or if the city council will rescind it entirely.
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DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry said in a statement that Raeden has put forth different ideas that the utility can’t comment on at this time.
Raeden’s Gibraltar data center would incorporate an existing building at 27800 W. Jefferson Ave., on the former McLouth Steel property.
Green told the Gibraltar audience the company’s investment could be as much as $2 billion. The project would create 60 to 100 permanent jobs and 500 to 700 construction jobs for a year or more, he said.
The company has proposed developing an adjacent Superfund property at 28000 W. Jefferson. The property could be used to host natural gas generation, Green told Planet Detroit.
The proposed 100 MW data center’s power demand is equivalent to the energy used by 80,000 homes.
The proposed facility is an inference data center, which powers artificial intelligence models to generate results like photos or text, according to Google Cloud.
No inference data centers presently exist in Metro Detroit, according to Raeden.
Raeden has partnered with Bedrock, the real estate firm founded by Dan Gilbert, and his Rock Family of Companies, since 2020. This has included developing a small data center at 615 W. Lafayette in downtown Detroit, Green said.
Developer says data center will lower electric costs
Several commenters at Wednesday’s town hall asked how the Gibraltar data center could impact their utility bills.
Gregory Gaskin cited a CNBC report from November that said data centers are driving up U.S. utility bills and asked why it would be any different in Michigan.
Green said other areas of the country haven’t enacted processes to protect ratepayers, but Michigan has, saying DTE now has a data center tariff.
A utility tariff establishes the rates, rules, and regulations for providing electric service.
Michigan Public Service Commission spokesperson Matt Helms told Planet Detroit the utility has not yet filed a data center tariff, but is required to do so in the future.
Michigan’s data center tax break legislation includes language to protect other ratepayers from the costs of supplying power to the facilities, although energy experts have said this language lacks specifics.
Green said the data center’s large and consistent power demands will increase DTE Energy’s efficiency and allow it to lower rates for other users.
DTE’s Lowry previously said the utility is focused on keeping bills as low as possible and is confident data center developments will not increase rates.
Douglas Jester, a consultant with 5 Lakes Energy, previously told Planet Detroit the existing cost allocation framework could leave residential ratepayers and other customers paying for a portion of the electric generation needed solely to power large data centers.
The facilities’ power demands could also drive up the wholesale price of power and filter down to other customers, Jester said.
Humbug Marsh a top concern for Downriver residents
Several commenters on Wednesday night raised concerns about public health risks from the data center and impacts to the nearby Humbug Marsh, part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
Emily Coaker, a Gibraltar resident and health care worker, brought up a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study showing significant air quality and public health impacts for a proposed Virginia data center complex with natural gas generation. The proposal was for a massive 3,500 MW natural gas power plant.
Coaker said she has asthma and pays for two inhalers, one of which costs $375.
Several attendees brought up the multiyear struggle to protect the Humbug Marsh, which sits directly across the road from the proposed data center.
The marsh was added to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in 2004, after residents and environmental advocates fought off an attempt to develop the property.
Gibraltar resident Lenore Bolthouse told Planet Detroit before the town hall that she is concerned the data center could impact the highly sensitive marsh and bird migration.
The city’s data center moratorium is a step forward, Bolthouse said, but she disagrees with the inclusion of waiver language.
“I’m afraid that the project probably is still moving ahead, unbeknownst to many of us.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that Gibraltar resident Emily Coaker is a health care worker, and the cost of her asthma inhaler is $375.
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