Americans Are Angry About Data Centers; Politicians Are Feeling Pressure

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, OpenAI, Related Digital,



Blackstone 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.