MiCCA weighs in on proposed Saline Township data center

We submitted the following public comment to the Michigan Public Service Commission on Dec. 3, 2025:

Please accept this comment from the Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action (MiCCA) on DTE’s application in Case No. U-21990 for approval of special contracts for electric service between the utility and a subsidiary of the tech company Oracle Corp. for a 1.4-gigawatt data center in Saline Township near Ann Arbor. 

The comments are prepared by Elizabeth (Lisa) Del Buono, MD, a retired physician who practiced for 30 years in Michigan, and who is also founder and board chair of Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action (MiCCA).

As a coalition of over 400 Michigan health professionals who advocate for policies that protect human health by addressing climate change, MiCCA requests that the Michigan Public Service Commission sets strong guardrails on electricity generation by the proposed data center in order to protect the health of Michigan residents.  

The decisions made in this case will set a precedent for other data centers across Michigan. How this energy is produced will impact generations into the future. Please consider the impacts these decisions will have on air, land and water quality, and public health.

Michigan nurses, doctors, and first responders are seeing the health impacts of fossil fuel pollution in their offices and clinics every day. We are concerned the extreme energy demands of data centers could lead to the build out of expensive new fossil fuel infrastructure and prolong the life of existing dirty fossil-fuel power plants. It does not have to be this way. 

The MPSC should require that any DTE contracts with data centers abide by Michigan’s Tax Act, which states that approved data centers facilities will procure 90% of their power from clean and renewable energy sources within six years. We encourage the MPSC to take the time needed to ensure proof of compliance with current tax law before approving any applications for power generation for data centers across the state. Expediting this process is not wise.

In particular, MiCCA feels strongly that if we wish to ensure breathable air, drinkable water, and a livable world for generations to come, the power supplying these data centers should come from established non-carbon forms of energy such as solar, wind, and renewable battery storage and not natural gas of any type - including so-called “renewable” natural gas derived from manure using biodigesters!  If necessary, tech companies could foot the bill for carefully exploring newer non-carbon technologies that hold promise like enhanced geothermal. 

It is concerning that even if DTE is able to meet the generation needs of this specific project, the load requirements for future data center customers in the state may, according to DTE,  “require natural gas generation”. Although cleaner than coal, methane from natural gas is a potent greenhouse gas and the production of it from any source will not improve air or climate pollution at a time when we are facing climate tipping points.

Additionally, please ensure that DTE has given adequate evidence that it will not raise rates or shift major risks to ratepayers. Michigan currently has some of the highest energy rates of the Great Lakes region with the worst power reliability in the Midwest. The exorbitant energy demand required by data centers is likely to exacerbate current problems with grid reliability and affordability. According to a Carnegie Mellon University analysis, customers could see electricity bills increase 8% by 2030 on account of data centers, with some regions facing increases as high as 25%. 

As health professionals, we understand that affordable and reliable clean electricity is essential for patients dependent on ventilators, oxygen generators, infusion pumps, dialysis machines, electric wheelchairs and more. We encourage the MPSC to enforce protections that ensure both grid reliability and that rate-payers do not pick up the bill for power-hungry data centers in service to corporations like Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Digital.

Michigan has made great strides in supporting clean energy, and we believe granting special permits to DTE with no restrictions would undermine that progress. Your decision could either set a precedent that enables energy-greedy data centers to run rampant resulting in grave environmental and public health harms, or it could make Michigan the gold standard in ensuring development is done thoughtfully and sustainably. 

By setting common-sense guardrails that require these tech companies to pay for the infrastructure to power new data centers with non-carbon renewable energy, the MPSC could set an example for how other states can welcome new data centers while protecting the health and financial security of consumers.