Kent County

Moratoriums and bans

1. Feb. 9, 2026 Solon Township: Moratorium. Six-month pause on accepting data center proposals, adopted unanimously. (FOX 17, Feb. 9, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Aug. 11, 2026 Microsoft Lowell Township data center (Covenant Business Park) · Township planning commission said a draft ordinance is months away; the project remained paused. (Spectrum News, Aug. 11, 2026)
2. Aug. 2026 Microsoft Lowell Township data center (Covenant Business Park) · The City of Lowell suspended water, sewer and development talks with the township, according to The 'Gander's summary of WOOD TV reporting. (The 'Gander, March 2, 2026)
3. April 15, 2026 Microsoft Gaines Township data center campus · After hours of public comment at South Christian High School, the Planning Commission tabled the rezoning with no set date for a decision. (WWMT News Channel 3, April 16, 2026; FOX 17, April 15, 2026)
4. Feb. 9, 2026 Solon Township data center inquiry · Township board unanimously adopted a six-month moratorium; The Right Place had been helping developers look at the site. (FOX 17, Feb. 9, 2026)
5. Feb. 9, 2026 Solon Township: Moratorium · Six-month pause on accepting data center proposals, adopted unanimously. (FOX 17, Feb. 9, 2026)
6. Jan. 2, 2026 Microsoft Lowell Township data center (Covenant Business Park) · Microsoft's cloud infrastructure team identified itself as the end user in a letter released by the township; the seller's rezoning request had been paused. (The Lowell Ledger, Jan. 14, 2026)
7. March 9, 2017 Switch Grand Rapids (Pyramid campus) · Switch opened the campus, citing support from Gaines Township and Kent County. (Switch (company announcement), March 9, 2017)

Statewide

Through Public Acts 181 and 207 of 2024, which changed MCL 205.94cc (use tax) and MCL 205.54ee (sales tax), Michigan created a sales and use tax exemption on equipment for certified "enterprise data centers": at least $250 million invested, at least 30 new jobs paying 150% of the regional median wage, municipal water, and no local property tax break unless each affected local board approves it by resolution. The exemption runs from April 22, 2025, through 2050 (2065 on brownfield or former power-plant sites); the Michigan Strategic Fund certifies projects and may issue no new certificates after 2029. (Michigan Strategic Fund / Michigan Economic Development Corp., undated) The same acts extended the older "qualified data center" sales and use tax exemption, in place since 2016, through Dec. 31, 2050, after local development agencies certified 2,972 data center jobs created since 2016, above the 1,000-job condition in the law. (Michigan Strategic Fund, Dec. 12, 2025) Repeal and pause bills: in December 2025 Reps. Jim DeSana (R) and Dylan Wegela (D) announced a three-bill package to repeal the exemptions, and on Feb. 26, 2026, a bipartisan House group introduced bills to pause new enterprise data center approvals, including MPSC approvals, until April 1, 2027. Neither had become law as of the sources reviewed; the bill numbers are not yet checked. (Bridge Michigan, Dec. 16, 2025; WKAR, Feb. 27, 2026) Consumers Energy large-load tariff (MPSC Case No. U-21859, Nov. 6, 2025): customers of 100 MW or more (or 100 MW across sites of 20 MW or more with one owner) must sign contracts of at least 15 years, pay at least 80% of contracted demand, post collateral and pay an exit fee for leaving early. (Michigan Public Service Commission, Nov. 6, 2025) DTE Electric serves large customers under its D11 rate (standard five-year terms); in approving the Saline Township contracts (Case No. U-21990, Dec. 18, 2025) the MPSC ordered DTE to file a general large-load tariff within 90 days, to be decided in a contested case. The docket number of that tariff filing is not yet checked. (Michigan Public Service Commission, Dec. 18, 2025; Planet Detroit, Dec. 18, 2025) Michigan data centers →