As utilities field dozens of inquiries from companies looking to build energy-hungry data centers in Michigan, they’re grappling with a thorny question: Who’ll cover the electricity bill if the boom goes bust?
Michigan Environment Watch
Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Great Lakes News Collaborative
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, The Narwhal and Michigan Public work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. You can find all of the collaborative’s stories here.
Shockwave
The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative will explore how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters. Read the series here.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Tiny Michigan town hopes to stop data center with ballot initiative
Officials in Augusta Township, near Ann Arbor, see millions of dollars in tax revenue, but more than 950 residents who signed ballot petitions fear endless noise, pollution and higher electric rates.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
What to know about Michigan whitefish crisis, from limits to solutions
Invasive mussels that blanket the depths of lakes Huron and Michigan have pushed whitefish to the brink of extinction. What to know about possible solutions and why Lake Superior so far is spared.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Whitefish crash has Michigan fishers on the brink: ‘It makes you want to cry’
Only a few dozen commercial fishing operations remain on the Great Lakes, as invasive species have decimated the industry. It’s a collapse unlike any in the world, and solutions are few.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Labradoodle’s special mission: Helping a Michigan tribe save rare turtles
Mooz the labradoodle is helping scientists from the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians study the threatened wood turtles. The work may lead to the use of dogs to help conserve other rare species.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Are Michigan’s small farms ready to go EV? MSU demos an electric tractor
At an August event, researchers at Michigan State University asked farmers about their thoughts on a new electric tractor. The market is so new they’re still trying to figure out if they’ve designed it well enough to excite growers of specialty crops like carrots, asparagus and blueberries.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Attack of the oyster mushrooms: How a foodie trend is harming Michigan woods
Imported to the US for culinary use, golden oyster mushrooms escaped captivity and began rapidly spreading through North America’s woods, where they’re now displacing native species.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
PFAS cleanups delayed by years at Michigan military sites
Lawmakers and advocates are decrying a lack of transparency after the Pentagon extended the timelines with no public announcement or explanation why.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Report: 19% of Lake Michigan shore now armored, limiting public access
A new study from MSU researchers used aerial photography to show just how much Michigan’s western shoreline has changed since the high water crisis of 2020. The expansion of hard armoring brings consequences for people and the environment.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan Supreme Court to consider Line 5 permit challenges
The state’s highest court will hear two challenges to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s approval of a permit for Enbridge Inc.’s proposed Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac.