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| Science & Technology |
| Americans are angry about data centers. Politicians are feeling the pressure |
| 2026-07-17 |
| SALINE TOWNSHIP, Michigan, July 16 (Reuters) - From Michigan Avenue, Saline Township looks like any other farming community, with its corn and soybean fields, silos and grain elevators. Just down the road, though, cranes reach above towering fences at the site of a $16 billion project — one that has turned this town of 2,400 people into the latest U.S. flashpoint over AI data centers. Dubbed "The Barn" by its consortium of developers — Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab, OpenAI, Related Digital, Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab and Walbridge — the Stargate data center is expected to stretch over 250 acres. Construction is moving ahead despite resistance from residents concerned about its impact on Saline’s water supply, its power grid and its rural character. “Most people aren't interested in some massive development here,” said Tammie Bruneau, who has led local pushback. “They're interested in protecting the farmland.” In this deeply polarized country, opposition to data centers is among the few issues that unite voters across ideological lines. Just a third of Americans approve of the pace of data-center construction, according to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll. Only 14% of respondents would support a data center being built in their community. That tension is increasingly pronounced in Michigan, where at least 13 data centers, opens new tab are in various stages of planning — and communities in Saline and beyond are fighting back. Developers withdrew a project in Washington Township after residents mobilized against it; in Augusta, petitioners stalled development and forced a public rezoning vote. As backlash spreads, the fight over data centers is no longer confined to town councils, leaving politicians here and across the nation, opens new tab scrambling to keep up. |
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