By Jennifer Eberbach | jeberbach@mlive.com
Publication Date: 2025-12-02 14:47:00
SALINE, MI – Residents upset over a $7 billion data center project for ChatGPT inventor OpenAI and multinational technology company Oracle gathered at all four corners of downtown Saline’s main intersection on Monday, Dec. 1. They carried protest signs and chanted “No Secret Deals” while many drivers honked in support.
More than 100 people joined the protest organized by residents, demanding greater public scrutiny of DTE Energy’s plan to power the 1.4 gigawatt plant, equivalent to the power needs of more than a million homes.
RELATED: Protesters demonstrate against DTE’s attempt to accelerate OpenAI, the Oracle data center
It would be Michigan’s first “hyperscale” data center. The 2.2 million-square-foot, roughly 250-acre data center campus on 575 acres of farmland in neighboring Saline Township would advance artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
The protest came in advance a virtual hearing on Wednesday, December 3, related to DTE Energy’s request for government regulators with…
