Microsoft has publicly confirmed it’s the company behind the controversial data center proposal in Lowell Charter Township, Michigan a project tied to roughly $500M–$1B in investment on a 237-acre site near Interstate-96. Locals have pushed back on rezoning, energy use and infrastructure transparency, prompting Microsoft to pause the rezoning process and commit to more community engagement before moving forward. This episode echoes broader tensions over hyperscale data centers in Michigan, where multiple towns are grappling with the trade-offs between tech capital inflows, power grid load and local resource impacts amid a surge in AI-driven cloud build outs.