SALINE TWP., Mich. (WXYZ) — Michigan's largest-ever investment — a $16 billion data center campus — held its groundbreaking Monday in Saline Township, drawing praise from state and business leaders while residents nearby remain divided over its long-term impact.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
The facility, already nicknamed "the Barn" for its distinctive design, will be utilized by Oracle and OpenAI and is expected to be the largest data center in Michigan by both power capacity and physical size.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke at the groundbreaking about the scale of the project and its potential.
"It's easy to throw around these numbers. One gigawatt, hard to conceptualize that. This many tens of billions of dollars, sounds like a big number, hard to conceptualize that too. This could very well turn into the site where cancer gets cured," Altman said at the groundbreaking in Saline Township.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks on new data center 'The Barn' in Saline Township:
Governor Gretchen Whitmer also attended the event, emphasizing that environmental standards were upheld throughout the development process.
"I will only ever open Michigan to companies that respect our strict environmental standards and protect our air, land and water, the Barn meets all those high standards," Whitmer said. "Here in Michigan, we are setting an example for the rest of the nation, the rest of the world, for that matter. We have the right guardrails to ensure responsible adoption of AI and create jobs."
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at groundbreaking for Saline Twp. data center:
Officials say the project is expected to create thousands of union construction jobs and 450 permanent jobs, millions in new, annual tax revenues to support the Township and Michigan schools, and $14 million dollars in direct benefits for the local fire department, a farmland preservation trust, and community investment fund.
Also on Monday, all companies participating in the project, including OpenAI, Oracle, Related Digital, which is overseeing the construction, Blackstone Real Estate, and Walbridge, are investing $10 million into the Saline Recreation Center as part of an effort to be good neighbors to the surrounding community.
However, one of the community's primary concerns has been water consumption. Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk said on Monday the data center will use less water than the land would if it remained farmland, due to a closed-loop cooling system.
"These data centers, yes, they use water to cool, but they actually use a very similar system to your car. The water recirculates, and then the heat goes out through the air," Magouyrk said.
Still, not all residents are convinced.
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"It’s a shame what’s happening," Saline Township resident Ben Schaaf said.
Schaaf adds that the construction traffic has already been disruptive, and his concerns extend well beyond the building phase.
"They can call it whatever they want, it's not going to fit in, and it's not something this community wants," Schaaf said.
Schaaf also raised concerns about the project's lasting effects on the area.
"This is something that's going to have a multi-generational impact on folks in this community, including our children," Schaaf said.
Another resident, identified only as Liam, echoed that skepticism.
"I don't think anybody's really for it, except for the companies," Liam said.
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