Summary
The specific data center behind DTE’s rate-freeze promise: a $16 billion campus in Saline Township (Washtenaw County, outside Ann Arbor), built by Related Digital and Blackstone for Oracle, powered by DTE Energy, drawing more than 1 GW — about 25% of DTE’s current peak. Part of the OpenAI/Oracle “Stargate” program, nicknamed “The Barn.” Construction is underway; Michigan AG Dana Nessel has appealed the MPSC’s conditional approval of DTE’s power-supply contracts over redactions and transparency.
Key Points
- $16B project; >1 GW draw (~25% of DTE’s current peak capacity).
- Developers: Related Digital + Blackstone; tenant: Oracle; power: DTE Energy.
- Location: Saline Township, Washtenaw County (~3 counties / 90+ mi from St. Clair County, on the opposite SW end of DTE’s territory).
- Stated benefits: 2,500 union construction jobs, 450 on-site jobs, 1,500 county-wide, $14M community benefits, 750 acres preserved.
- Dana Nessel appealed the MPSC’s conditional approval of DTE’s power-supply contracts, citing redacted contract details and insufficient transparency.
Newsletter Angles
- The geography that corrected the flagship. This is the data center actually reshaping DTE’s rates — and it’s nowhere near the author. It is the concrete proof behind the corrected Personal Code line: the cost reaches a billing address, not a location.
- “Announced ≠ built” graduating to “built but contested.” The wiki’s Stargate page tracks collapsed expansions (Abilene). Saline is the counter-case: financed, under construction — but its power contracts are under AG appeal. The fight moved from “will it get built” to “who pays for the grid it needs.”
Entities Mentioned
- Saline Township Data Center (The Barn) — the campus itself.
- Oracle — tenant; Stargate program anchor.
- DTE Energy — power supplier; rate-case beneficiary of the revenue.
- Dana Nessel — AG appealing the power-contract approval.
- Michigan Public Service Commission — granted the conditional approval under appeal.
Concepts Mentioned
- AI Buildout Grid Constraint — a single load worth ~25% of a major utility’s peak.
- AI Cost Incidence — the contracts whose cost allocation is being litigated.
Quotes
Related Digital and Blackstone: “Major construction is well underway in Saline Township. Momentum is strong.”
Notes
- “The Barn” nickname and the OpenAI/Stargate connection come from related coverage (Fortune, CNBC, Engineering News-Record); this Michigan Public piece confirms developers, tenant, power supplier, scale, and the Nessel appeal.
- Power figure stated as “>1 GW / ~25% of DTE peak”; other coverage cites ~1,383 MW at full buildout vs. DTE’s projected 2026 peak ~10.7 GW.