Within one week, a proposal to build a large data center in Delhi Charter Township, Michigan, went from public announcement to formal opposition by the township. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) and developer Lighthouse Sustainability said they were gathering community feedback on a possible data center on a 423-acre site off College Road. The township ended its LEAP membership the next day. On Friday, Oct. 30, its Board of Trustees voted unanimously against any data center development in the township.

The resolution is a statement of position, not a zoning decision. No application exists to approve or deny. It does put the township on record against the project, and it asks the developer to keep a public promise its CEO made to stop if residents oppose it.

What Was Proposed

Michigan Public and WKAR reported that, as Dorris described it, the concept is a 700-megawatt data center with six hours of battery storage and closed-loop cooling, with about 90 acres of the site set aside for nature. The outlet said media reports put the project's value at up to $10 billion. Michigan Public reported that Lighthouse Sustainability CEO and co-founder Gary Dorris said it would generate $53 million in annual revenue, and that Dorris described the 700-MW, battery storage, cooling and 90-acre details at an online public meeting on Tuesday night. WOOD TV, by contrast, reported an expected $54 million in annual tax revenue, so the sources differ on the revenue figure.

According to WOOD TV 8, LEAP's release said the site was identified in the township's 2023 master plan. WOOD TV reported that LEAP holds an option to buy the land and received a $6.5 million state grant to prepare it. Due diligence is underway, but no application has been filed and no end user has been identified. WOOD TV also reported that the project leaders said they would respect the township's moratorium, and that Dorris said the team would walk away if the community says no.

According to WOOD TV, no end user has been identified and no application has been filed. The 700-MW figure, which Dorris described at the Tuesday webinar, is therefore a concept for the site rather than a filed proposal.

How the Township Responded

Township officials said they found out about the proposal at the same time as everyone else. In its official news release on the vote, the township said the Board's first opportunity to meet publicly came after it learned on Tuesday that LEAP and Lighthouse Sustainability were collecting community feedback on a potential data center.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Township Manager Tracy Miller issued a short statement: "Effective immediately, Delhi Township is ending our membership with the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP)."

WOOD TV reported a separate statement from Miller saying board members had received no application, had not communicated with a developer and would not sign nondisclosure agreements. The township repeated those points in its Oct. 30 release, which says the Board has received no application or proposal from any data center developer and "has not signed and will not sign" any NDAs. The township is stating up front that it will not sign one.

Michigan Public reported that the Board called a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Friday. The township's release says the meeting took place at the Sam Corey Senior Center, where the Board unanimously approved a resolution opposing any data center development in the township. The key sentence of the resolution reads: "The Delhi Charter Township Board of Trustees hereby voices its official opposition to data center development in the Township."

The resolution also calls on Lighthouse Sustainability to keep the promise Dorris made during a Tuesday evening webinar to stop the proposal if it meets local opposition. The township said written public comments it received were being forwarded in full to LEAP and Lighthouse.

The Moratorium Already in Place

The township was not starting from zero. Its release notes that in April the Board approved a 12-month moratorium on data centers. Michigan Public reported that the moratorium is scheduled to end in April.

The moratorium governs timing more than anything else. LEAP and Lighthouse have said they will respect it, according to WOOD TV, and Michigan Public reported that the two organizations plan a six-month community engagement campaign before it expires. Taken together, the sources describe a developer team that intends to make its case to residents while the moratorium runs, facing a township board that has already formally declared its opposition.

What the Resolution Does and Does Not Do

The sources support a few points that readers following the story should keep in mind:

  • It is a statement of position, not a zoning decision. The township's release calls it a resolution voicing "official opposition." No application has been filed, so there is nothing to approve or deny.
  • It relies on the developer's own words. The resolution asks Lighthouse Sustainability to keep the commitment its CEO made publicly, which WOOD TV reported as a pledge to walk away if the community says no.
  • The township has cut its formal tie to LEAP. The township is no longer a member of the regional economic development group that holds the option on the site and received the state site-preparation grant, according to WOOD TV.
  • The moratorium remains in effect. The 12-month pause adopted in April still applies, and the project's backers have said they will honor it.

The episode also shows a practical difference between developers and local governments. A regional economic development partnership can hold land options, win state grants and run due diligence on a site before any application reaches the municipality whose land-use rules would eventually apply. In Delhi Township, that municipality learned about the project when the public did and answered within three days.

What Happens Next

According to Michigan Public, LEAP and Lighthouse Sustainability plan a roughly six-month community engagement campaign before the township's data center moratorium expires in April. The township says it has received no application or proposal and has not signed and will not sign any NDAs. It is forwarding residents' written comments in full to LEAP and Lighthouse. The Board's Oct. 30 resolution formally asks Lighthouse to keep CEO Gary Dorris's public commitment to stop the proposal if it meets local opposition. None of the sources report a scheduled hearing or filing deadline on the project.

Sources