JACKSON, Mich — Jackson County Board of Commissioners Chair Jim Shotwell says data centers are an "inevitable need" as companies continue to inquire about bringing facilities to the area, just days after Deep Green pulled its plans for a downtown Lansing data center.
- Companies have been "kicking tires" and looking at properties in Jackson County.
- Officials are working with Consumers Energy to identify the best locations for potential data centers.
- A battery storage facility is under construction in Summit Township to help manage local energy demands.
WATCH: COMPANIES SHOWING INTEREST IN BRINGING DATA CENTER TO JACKSON COUNTY
I met with Shotwell Wednesday at his business, Miller's Shoes on Michigan Avenue in Jackson. He told me several companies have reached out about potential data center development in the county.
"We've had people kicking tires and looking at different properties and that type of stuff. Yes," Shotwell said.
The county has been actively working with Consumers Energy to determine where data centers would be best suited, focusing on brownfield sites and unused industrial properties rather than new development.
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"Jackson County has met with and discussed it with Consumers Energy, what the needs are, where the locations would be best served," Shotwell said. "[We're] also working with the city of Jackson and if there are brownfield sites that can be reused turned into data centers."
Shotwell believes data centers could provide much-needed tax revenue without raising taxes on residents. He pointed to ongoing infrastructure challenges as a reason why the county needs new sources of revenue.
"When you're dealing with roads and funding like that, the only way you get things is with tax dollars today and nobody wants to discuss a millage," Shotwell said.
WATCH: EAST LANSING UNDER DATA CENTER MORATORIUM AS PROJECT IS PULLED IN LANSING
Jackson County resident Chris Tchorzynski says he supports data centers coming to the area as long as they can supply their own power.
"[Data centers] might be good for jobs. Bring some jobs to this community," Tchorzynski said. "The only problem that I see would be people worried about power levels that would be consumed and the effect on their bills."
To address power concerns, Jackson County already has a battery storage facility under construction in Summit Township near a power substation. However, Shotwell says this isn't specifically preparing for data centers.
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"I don't think it's really prepping for a data center, but it keeps residential and private citizens power costs down," Shotwell said.
Unlike some neighboring communities that have implemented moratoriums, Jackson County doesn't have the authority to halt data center development.
Individual townships handle zoning decisions and several have put restrictive language in place or implemented rolling moratoriums.
Shotwell argues that data centers represent the future of manufacturing in the information age.
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"We all have talked about that, you know wanting manufacturing and that type of stuff. Well in the information age manufacturing is the producing of information and that's a data center," Shotwell said.
As the county moves forward, Shotwell says education and community discussion will be key to determining the best path forward for potential data center development.
"We just have to decide what's going to be the best and safest way with the least impact environmentally on each one of these communities and I know these data centers can do that," Shotwell said.
Accelerate Jackson County CEO Keith Gillenwater released a statement to Fox 47 News regarding interest in data centers which can be found below.
We have had some inquiries on data center projects, but none that have gotten to a serious discussion yet. We are always open to talking with any company who is looking to invest within Jackson County, whether it is a manufacturing facility, commercial operation, data center, or any other type of project.
We work hard to help our local officials make informed decisions on any inquires that we get for projects and to understand all aspects of what a project could mean for a community, from the benefits to potential drawbacks and everything in-between.
As it relates to data centers, there are merits to the projects and some of them represent very large investments into a community which are attractive but like all projects it has to make sense for the community as it relates to siting, zoning, utility access & usage, and the like.
We know a few communities within Jackson County have placed moratoriums on certain types of development such as data centers in order to become more informed on what they could mean for their community, and we are supportive and have proactively been working with some of them to help work through the issues.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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