By Terence Parker, Michigan resident and Solar Mounts LLC team member
America’s AI boom raises a basic question: where will all the electricity come from?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects electricity use to set records in 2026 and 2027. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates data centers could use 9.5% to 15.3% of U.S. electricity by 2030. S&P Global says grid power supplied to data centers reached about 64.4 gigawatts in 2025, up 25% in one year. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Meeting that demand won’t be easy. Reuters reported in March that lead times for large gas turbines now exceed five years. Developers are looking for a mix of new generation, batteries, flexible demand, and firm power. For example, Google’s October 22 plan for a 1-gigawatt virtual power plant across the PJM region would combine flexible demand, batteries, and other resources to manage peak demand. Source: Reuters
Solar can and should be a part of the answer, though it cannot power a hyperscale data center around the clock on its own. Solar reduces daytime grid demand. Batteries can shift some of that energy into peak hours and provide grid services. Solar canopies over parking lots and nearby ground-mounted arrays can add generation beyond what rooftops can support. They won’t replace a reliable grid, but they can and will strengthen the overall supply plan.
The Economic Opportunity and the Public’s Concerns
Data centers can bring construction work, tax revenue, and investment. Microsoft’s first Wisconsin facility opened in June 2026 after construction involving nearly 10,000 workers. Now, only about 550 full-time employees now work there. Communities should weigh those temporary construction jobs against expected permanent employment. Source: Microsoft
Michigan residents are asking about water use, electricity costs, land use, traffic, and noise emissions from cooling systems and backup generators. Earlier this summer, activists made their concerns known by protesting the development of a data center in Marshall, Michigan. In June 2026, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan responded by urging case-by-case reviews and cautioned against overstating economic benefits. In September, environmental groups called for stronger oversight of potential impacts on water, air quality, and neighbors. Source: Citizens Research Council of Michigan
Michigan Has a Promising Model
Michigan welcomes responsible investment, but residents deserve clear answers about the benefits, costs and safeguards before construction begins. On October 1, 2026, the Michigan Public Service Commission conditionally approved DTE Energy contracts for Google’s planned data center in Van Buren Township. Under the agreement, Google will fund the development of up to 1,600 megawatts (1.6 GW) of renewable generation and 480 megawatts of battery storage. The contracts include long-term payment commitments and financial safeguards intended to keep project costs from shifting to other DTE customers. Much like DTE, Consumers Energy has also adopted stronger service terms for data centers and other very large electricity users. Source: Michigan Public Service Commission
The principle is straightforward: large customers must help pay for the generation and grid upgrades they require. Delivered on time, those investments can also strengthen the wider grid. That creates an opportunity for Michigan’s solar and storage industries, including Solar Mounts LLC, a commercial and utility-scale solar racking designer and manufacturer. Developers, battery suppliers, and construction contractors could benefit if data center growth leads to real projects.
Michigan has a strong clean energy policy foundation. Public Act 235 sets renewable-energy requirements of 50% by 2030 and 60% by 2035, a 100% clean-energy standard by 2040, and a 2,500-megawatt statewide storage target. Additionally, Public Act 233 created a state-level siting option for certain utility-scale renewable and storage projects. Source: Michigan’s 2023 Energy Legislation
Now, the state must turn policy into results. Protections must include financial guarantees, minimum payments, and exit fees. Data center operators should pay their fair share of generation and grid upgrades. Public reporting should compare projections with actual costs and benefits. Utilities must pair new demand with Michigan solar and storage through transparent procurement, coordinated transmission planning, and incentives for flexible use. Clear rules would help companies such as Solar Mounts LLC plan investments and support local manufacturing.
Growth Must Come with Community Protections
New power supplies are only one measure of success. Communities need an early voice, and independent reviews should assess water use, generator emissions, traffic, lighting, noise, and cumulative impacts. Safeguards should include setbacks, screening, acoustic enclosures, quieter cooling equipment, operating limits, and a clear complaint process. Developers should be disclosing permanent-job estimates, tax revenue, water demands, and who pays for roads, substations, and other infrastructure.
Virginia’s 2026 measures aim to expand storage and shield ratepayers from data center infrastructure costs. Michigan should learn from the developments in Virginia and compete through dependable power, predictable permitting, and fair treatment of host communities, not just through tax incentives. Source: Virginia Governor’s Office
Michigan should not promise electricity that the grid cannot reliably deliver. It should use new demand to bring additional generation and storage online without shifting costs or impacts onto existing customers and neighbors. For Solar Mounts LLC and Michigan’s renewable-energy industry, data center growth could mean more solar carports, ground-mounted arrays, and related infrastructure, but only if new demand is matched with new power supplies.
Michigan can become an energy-rich secondary market for data centers, but only if it builds the supply, safeguards, and public trust to earn that role.
