IN THE NEWS: Mills discusses new guide to help Michigan communities plan for data centers on MSU Public Radio

“Are Michigan communities inadequately prepared for data centers?” is one question posed by Taubman College’s Sarah Mills in a new planning guide designed for Michigan residents and local government officials. Mills, associate professor of practice and director of the Center for EmPowering Communities at U-M’s Graham Sustainability Institute, discussed several suggestions from the guide and why they’re needed today in an interview with Michigan State University Public Radio earlier this month.

Many Michigan residents have expressed concern and opposition to proposed data center projects, including in Ypsilanti, near Ann Arbor. However, local governments are limited in their ability to ban the projects, and many industrial zoning laws are now outdated. 

Mills proposes several measures for government action in lieu of outright bans, including standards for noise and light pollution and greater separation between industrial and residential zones. She also argues that the state government can require developers to assume greater responsibility for project costs, including future remediation and electricity demands.

“What we hoped to do with the guide is help them understand what is true and false and provide information on the impacts of a data center, positive and negative, to the best of our ability right now,” Mills said. “And then also, the second half of the guide provides a couple of considerations that local governments can take into account as they are looking particularly at their zoning ordinance.”

Read the full article and a transcript of the interview at the MSU Public Radio website.