Company leaders optimistic “responsible development” of Saline data center will set example

Michigan Public | By Colin Jackson

Published June 1, 2026 at 9:28 PM EDT

A group photo of seven people, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, standing in a line at an outdoor construction site. They are dressed in business professional and business casual attire. In the background, a massive American flag hangs vertically behind them against a partly cloudy blue sky, alongside heavy construction machinery. In the foreground is a large pile of gravel. — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stands alongside business leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, framed by a massive American flag.

Business and state leaders ceremoniously broke ground on a $16 billion dollar data center project in Saline Township Monday.

Multiple videos played during the celebration argued the companies were being thoughtful and careful to build a connection with the community, protect the environment, and address concerns. These leaders painted the $16 billion project as the future of data centers, built with union labor and accompanied by new electric grid infrastructure and job training.

“We are setting an example for the rest of the nation, the rest of the world for that matter. We have the right guard rails to ensure responsible adoption of AI and create jobs, save on energy costs, and protect our environment,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.

Whitmer, who signed laws in 2024 to welcome data centers to Michigan, told attendees that she made it clear to developers she would not support the project if it wouldn’t be responsible.

She highlighted a law banning utilities from passing the costs of data center power generation onto other customers as one example. The data center would eventually use more than a gigawatt of power, as much as a typical nuclear plant produces.

Leaders of tech companies behind the new facility - Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Media - visited the site in Washtenaw County dubbed “The Barn.”

Though he acknowledged there are still risks involved, Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk said the project has the right people and policies in place to make it a success.

“None of this happens without consequences. Right? I think there’s been a lot of discussion here about responsible development. About what does it mean to responsibly develop a data center, a large site like this? And, truthfully, things like this of this scale haven’t been done before and we learn as we go,” Magouyrk said.

A wide shot of a groundbreaking ceremony at an outdoor construction site. A line of fourteen officials, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, are holding ceremonial shovels and digging into a long pile of dirt and gravel. A large American flag hangs vertically behind them in the center, and a massive red and white construction crane is parked on the right under a clear blue sky. — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and a delegation of officials officially break ground during a ceremonial shovel toss at a new development site.

Whitmer and others argued AI is a key part of the future economy, and that Michigan should be a core player.

Data centers, however, have had a rough track record in other parts of the country that have already welcomed them. Critics accuse them of damaging the environment and requiring massive amounts of power. They also fear the current rise in AI is a bubble waiting to burst.

An outdoor, wide-angle shot taken from across a paved two-lane road showing a long chain-link perimeter fence wrapped in corporate branding banners at a major construction site under a partly cloudy blue sky. A large white directional arrow is painted on the asphalt foreground. The banners prominently display promotional messaging such as "A Stronger Future for Michigan," "Paying our own way on energy," "Real local benefits," and "Low water-use by design." Small partner logos for Related Digital, Oracle, and OpenAI are visible at the bottom of the main banner. Two utility poles stand on the right side of the road. — Promotional banners wrap the construction perimeter fence at the site of "The Barn," a massive multibillion-dollar hyperscale data center campus being built by Related Digital for Oracle and OpenAI in Saline Township, Michigan.

Community members and environmental groups have long feared those risks and that learning as they go could have an irreversible impact. Residents have frequently protested the data center, at local and state permitting meetings, and around the area. They have also sued.

Speakers Monday acknowledge the Saline Township site will be a massive change for both the community and the state overall. Overall, developers’ tone on Monday was optimistic.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman encouraged people to think about it in terms of what could be accomplished with the AI engines hosted there.

“This could very well turn into the site where cancer gets cured. This could turn into the site where hundreds of millions of students around the world learn and get private tutoring, this could turn into the site where millions of small businesses can run their business with AI in the cloud,” Altman said.

Altman said he hopes this project sets an example for future projects.

The first part of the project is expected to go live in early 2027.