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Data centers · Washtenaw County, Michigan

Washtenaw County

4 projects on record · 2 moratorium or ban actions

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Projects in Washtenaw County
The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus)Related Digital1,383Under constructionAug. 2, 202650 MW+
Sansone Group York Township siteSansone Group—WithdrawnApril 202650 MW+
Thor Equities Augusta Township data centerThor Equities—DeniedAug. 4, 202650 MW+
University of Michigan / Los Alamos research computing facilityUniversity of Michigan—ProposedAug. 11, 202650 MW+

Moratoriums and bans

  1. Feb. 12, 2026 York Township: Moratorium. Six-month moratorium on data center plans while the planning commission reviews zoning language (date is the reporting date). (WEMU, Feb. 12, 2026)
  2. Sept. 1, 2026 Ypsilanti: Proposed moratorium. City Council gave first-reading approval to an emergency moratorium on new data center zoning permits. (WEMU, Sept. 2, 2026)

Updates, newest first

  1. Sept. 1, 2026 Ypsilanti: Proposed moratorium · City Council gave first-reading approval to an emergency moratorium on new data center zoning permits. (WEMU, Sept. 2, 2026)
  2. Aug. 11, 2026 University of Michigan / Los Alamos research computing facility · U-M announced it selected the Textile Road site over an alternative at the American Center for Mobility; township officials said they would keep opposing it. (Bridge Michigan (via Planet Detroit), Aug. 12, 2026; Michigan Public, Aug. 12, 2026)
  3. Aug. 4, 2026 Thor Equities Augusta Township data center · Roughly nine in ten voters rejected the rezoning in a referendum. (WEMU, Aug. 5, 2026)
  4. July 30, 2026 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Frames of a second large building were visible from West Michigan Avenue. (Spectrum News, Aug. 2, 2026)
  5. July 17, 2026 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Township board approved the full 12-year, 50% tax abatement on a $43 billion valuation, reversing a July 14 vote that used $4.8 billion. (Bridge Michigan, July 15, 2026; WEMU, July 18, 2026)
  6. June 1, 2026 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Ceremonial groundbreaking with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (FOX 2 Detroit, June 1, 2026)
  7. April 24, 2026 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Related Digital and Blackstone-affiliated funds announced equity and debt financing; the price was reported at $16 billion. (WLNS 6 News (via Yahoo), April 25, 2026)
  8. April 17, 2026 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Nessel took the MPSC approval to the Michigan Court of Appeals, after the commission turned down both her motion to reopen the case and her petition for rehearing. (Michigan Department of Attorney General, April 17, 2026)
  9. April 2026 Sansone Group York Township site · Sansone withdrew from the land purchase, according to The 'Gander's summary of Crain's and MLive reporting. (The 'Gander, March 2, 2026)
  10. March 2026 University of Michigan / Los Alamos research computing facility · U-M completed the purchase of the 144-acre parcel, approved by the Regents in June 2025. (Michigan Public, Aug. 12, 2026)
  11. Feb. 12, 2026 York Township: Moratorium · Six-month moratorium on data center plans while the planning commission reviews zoning language (date is the reporting date). (WEMU, Feb. 12, 2026)
  12. Feb. 2026 Sansone Group York Township site · York Township placed a six-month moratorium on data center plans while it reviewed zoning language. (WEMU, Feb. 12, 2026)
  13. Dec. 18, 2025 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · MPSC approved the contracts ex parte with added conditions, including that DTE absorb any unrecovered costs and curtail the data center first in an emergency load shed; it denied requests for a contested case. (Michigan Public Service Commission, Dec. 18, 2025; Planet Detroit, Dec. 18, 2025)
  14. Oct. 30, 2025 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital announced the campus; DTE filed for approval of the power contracts the next day (MPSC Case No. U-21990). (Related Digital (company announcement), Oct. 30, 2025; Michigan Public Service Commission, Nov. 18, 2025)
  15. Oct. 15, 2025 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Consent judgment filed in Washtenaw County Circuit Court lets the project proceed with conditions including a 55-decibel noise limit, no expansion and community payments. (Planet Detroit, Oct. 21, 2025)
  16. Sept. 10, 2025 The Barn (Oracle / OpenAI Stargate campus) · Saline Township Board voted 4-1 to deny rezoning of the farmland; landowners and a Related Digital affiliate sued, alleging exclusionary zoning. (Planet Detroit, Oct. 21, 2025; WLNS 6 News (via Yahoo), April 25, 2026)
  17. July 22, 2025 Thor Equities Augusta Township data center · Township board voted unanimously to conditionally rezone 522 acres from agricultural-residential to light industrial. (Planet Detroit, July 18, 2026; WEMU, June 25, 2025)
  18. May 28, 2025 Thor Equities Augusta Township data center · Residents packed a township planning commission meeting to oppose the plan for 522 acres of an 810-acre tract. (WDIV ClickOnDetroit, June 3, 2025)

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 →