Fueled by a boom in artificial intelligence and the nation’s insatiable demand for cloud computing, Michigan is plunging into an era of massive data centers.

Across the state, developers are pitching the sprawling facilities for Big Tech housing digital infrastructure, promising billions in investment but stoking local opposition along the way.

Farmland south of Ann Arbor could host the state’s first large-scale project , a collaboration between ChatGPT creator OpenAI and multinational tech firm Oracle that will be developed by Related Digital.

That 2.2-million-square-foot data center in Saline Township — and others proposed nearby — could demand more power than some cities, raising environmental worries and concern over their effect on electric prices.

Why now? What’s coming nex

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