DTE asks for speedy approval of Michigan data center contract

As builders have a good time a deal to deliver a multibillion-dollar information middle campus to southeastern Michigan, DTE Power has requested state regulators to log off on their plan to energy the huge undertaking with out the standard regulatory course of.

And that request to expedite a special contract between DTE and the developer is drawing the ire of some elected officers who argue {that a} undertaking of this magnitude needs to be scrutinized by the state board charged with overseeing utilities in Michigan.

On October 31, DTE’s attorneys filed an ex parte movement with the Michigan Public Service Fee to approve a contract to provide power for the deliberate facility, supposed to energy OpenAI and Oracle’s Stargate undertaking. An ex parte movement is a request to approve a contract outdoors the standard rulemaking course of, on this case for the aim of bypassing the general public hearings and skilled testimony usually imposed on the MPSC.

OpenAI operates the favored generative synthetic intelligence platform ChatGPT, and the information middle campus, deliberate for Saline Township, is predicted to comprise 1.4 gigawatts of computing energy. For comparability, that is extra energy than DTE generates at its Fermi 2 nuclear energy plant in southeastern Michigan, which may provide energy to greater than one million houses. Knowledge facilities are the bodily buildings that home the servers and different {hardware} wanted to offer computing energy.

DTE says the contract for the Stargate campus doesn’t must undergo the regulatory course of as a result of it won’t have an effect on residential power charges, however some authorities officers say public hearings needs to be held so the Detroit-based utility can show its claims.

Michigan Legal professional Normal Dana Nessel’s workplace filed a discover of intervention in DTE’s case with the MPSC on Nov. 6.

“Lowering electrical energy payments and making power reasonably priced is important,” Nessel mentioned in an announcement. “That is why I am asking the Fee to carry a public listening to on this matter – to make sure that DTE clients do not get caught paying the invoice for an information middle that by no means involves fruition or makes use of far much less electrical energy than anticipated.”

Jill Wilmot, DTE’s director of company communications, mentioned in a Nov. 7 e-mail to the Detroit Free Press that development on the information middle campus will start early within the new yr. As well as, Wilmot pointed to laws handed in 2024 providing tax breaks for brand new information facilities, which requires services to not cross on the extra power prices to personal taxpayers so as to qualify for the exemptions.

“Given the numerous affordability advantages for our clients, in addition to the financial influence the undertaking can have, we consider shifting ahead on this method makes essentially the most sense,” Wilmot mentioned.

Questions have additionally been raised about how DTE will energy such a large campus with out tapping into new power technology. Wilmot mentioned builders are paying for battery storage as a part of the information middle undertaking, supposed to energy the Stargate campus.

“Our current technology assets, along with the power storage assets funded by the information middle, enable us to right away meet the power calls for of this new information middle with out constructing new baseload technology,” she mentioned.

Whereas some have cited information middle initiatives as a technique to promote job development, opponents have responded by growing the quantity of water and power required to function them, particularly on a bigger scale. Moreover, some critics say information facilities do not present the roles they promise as a result of the services, as soon as constructed, serve a extra infrastructural function than a typical enterprise.

Some lawmakers additionally questioned DTE’s request to expedite the approval course of. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, and state Rep. Morgan Foreman, D-Ann Arbor, wrote MPSC Chairman Dan Scripps a letter November 6 urges the committee to scrutinize the undertaking.

“We strongly help bringing cutting-edge expertise and union jobs to Michigan,” lawmakers wrote. “Tasks like these can ship lasting financial advantages and assist modernize our community. On the identical time, sustaining public belief by means of openness and engagement is important. The individuals we signify should understand how all these selections will influence their communities, their power prices and their atmosphere.”

The MPSC is the three-member physique charged with overseeing Michigan utilities, together with DTE and Michigan’s different main power supplier, Shoppers Power.

It’s not clear when the MPSC may take into account DTE’s request to approve the information middle contract. The committee is predicted to satisfy Dec. 5 in Lansing. MPSC agendas are normally made public the day earlier than the assembly.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com