Los Alamos and the University of Michigan Want To Build a National Security and AI ‘Data Center’ in Ypsilanti Township That Residents and Local Officials Say Will Provide Few Benefits

First of three articles about Michigan communities organizing to stop the construction of energy-intensive computing facilities.

The Huron River winds through parks and wooded areas in eastern Ypsilanti Township where thousands of residents fish, canoe and swim. Now the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory want to add a 300,000-square-foot taxpayer- subsidized data center with a 20-acre electric substation to the landscape.

The proposal has ignited a controversy. Township leadership has accused the university of being deceptive about its plans for the $1.25 billion data center, and wants U-M to instead build it in an industrial area.

Meanwhile, a group of about 300 residents called Stop The Data Center does not want a data center anywhere in Ypsilanti Township. They