DTE Spokesman: Data Center Case Must Be Expedited or Michigan Could Lose Investment

There wasn't much new ground covered as officials from Related Digital, the developer of the proposed Saline Township Data Center,  and DTE spoke to Saline City Council Monday.

Greg Gushee, Related Digital executive VP of Development, and Ryan Friedrichs,  Vice President of Development at Related Companies, spoke for the development. Dan Mahoney and Molly Coy represented DTE.

Councillor Nicole Rice asked the DTE representatives to explain why they've applied to expedite the public hearing on the DTE-Orance/OpenAI special contract before the Michigan Public Service Commission.

"We have asked for an expedited approval process versus going through a contested case process, which can take up to 10 months," Mahoney said.

He noted the project will not raise customer prices. More important is the timeline.

"Related is on a very tight timeline to construct this project. And if we are unable to meet those schedules, it is likely that Oracle will select a different site in a different state. Michigan will lose out on this opportunity, which is the single largest economic Development project in the state's history," Mahoney said. "So we want to make sure that we do everything we can to enable this project."

He noted that all residents can issue comments online to participate in the process.

Mayor Brian Marl noted that expedited approval is "not particularly unique."

Major construction is slated to begin in January.

Councillor Dean Girbach noted that the City of Saline could suffer the brunt of the wear and tear, if not damage, from the construction project.

"The concern is going to be what kind of damage could happen to our streets, our roads, because we are the main thoroughfare that's going to be part of this," Girbach said. Girbach mentioned safety and traffic concerns. Girbach said he hasn't heard about what benefits the city might get for dealing with that.

Girbach asked if there had been direct meetings with the city manager or other city officials. Gushee said no.

Related Digital does have an office in the community and plans to maintain it during the $7 billion project. Gushe said he planned to be in contact with government officials ahead of time to handle issues. The company has already been a sponsor of events like Oktoberfest and the Saline Community Fair.

Marl expressed optimism about the project.

"I think if this project is done right, with the appropriate safeguards, it can be very advantageous for the area," Marl said.

He thanked the Related Digital officials for presenting to the city, noting they were under no obligation to do so.

More News from Saline

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• Water and Sewer Rates on the Rise, People's Express Change, and More on Agenda Here's what's on the Saline City Council agenda Monday.