The Michigan Public Service Commission conditionally approved DTE Electric's special contracts for Google's proposed Van Buren Township data center. Reported protections include an 80% minimum billing demand and a payment guarantee covering at least 15 years. Local site-plan action remains separate.
Why it matters
This is the week's largest verified load commitment and establishes a ratepayer-protection structure for a new 1-GW campus.
Watch next
Van Buren final site plan · renewable and storage procurement · December 2027 service target
American Transmission Company refiled its revised eastern Wisconsin transmission and substation application after regulators required a restart. Reporting places the revised cost at $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion. The filing restarts review; it is not construction approval.
Why it matters
The grid package is critical to serving the $15 billion Port Washington campus and now carries a materially larger cost and a fresh regulatory clock.
New York released a Host Community Investment Framework recommending at least $1 million in community investment for each megawatt of utility demand associated with a new data center. It is voluntary negotiating guidance, not a statute, tax, or mandatory fee.
Why it matters
The framework creates a concrete statewide negotiating anchor for local governments and materially affects early project economics.
Watch next
Local adoption in development agreements · project negotiations · statewide rulemaking
East Whiteland Township unanimously approved a 32-page data-center ordinance after a temporary moratorium. The ordinance applies to future proposals and does not alter the 1.5-million-square-foot campus already under construction.
Why it matters
The ordinance is a concrete local regulatory template in an active Pennsylvania development corridor.
Watch next
Implementation guidance · future applications · construction milestones at the existing campus
Developer Brian O'Neill filed land-use appeals after Upper Merion Township rejected a proposed five-site, 4.6-million-square-foot data-center campus. The appeals are pending and do not reverse the township's rejection.
Why it matters
The litigation keeps a very large campus alive while testing how existing warehouse zoning applies to data centers.
An Ozaukee County judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the tax incremental district supporting the Port Washington data-center campus. A separate case involving a ballot initiative remains distinct.
Why it matters
The ruling removes one immediate obstacle to roughly $175 million of local infrastructure financing for a campus already under construction.
Watch next
Written order · appeal deadline · separate ballot-initiative ruling
Microsoft announced that it will redirect up to $5 million per year in development incentives for which it has become eligible to Mount Pleasant and the Racine County Economic Development Corporation. Local officials still must decide how the village portion is used.
Why it matters
The decision converts a developer incentive into a visible community-benefit and property-tax-relief opportunity around an operating and expanding campus.
Watch next
2027 village budget · allocation terms · second-campus construction milestones
The Inver Grove Heights City Council exempted QLevr's proposed 55,000-square-foot Carmen Avenue data center from the city's one-year moratorium. The exemption allows site-plan review to continue; it is not final project approval.
Why it matters
The vote restores a specific project path while resolving a lawsuit that city officials said could expose the city to at least $20 million in damages.
Google sought approval for 228 additional emergency diesel generators at its Fort Wayne data-center campus, beyond 174 already permitted. The filing is a permit request, not authorization to install or operate the added equipment.
Why it matters
The request is a large resiliency and air-permitting signal that reveals the expanding backup-power footprint of the campus.
Watch next
Air-permit action · emissions limits · construction schedule · community hearing
Mayor Brandon Johnson and supporting alderpersons proposed a 12-month moratorium while Chicago develops a comprehensive regulatory framework. The pause has been proposed but not enacted.
Why it matters
A temporary freeze in one of the country's largest data-center markets would materially change near-term entitlement and siting strategy.
Watch next
Introduced ordinance · committee hearing · exemptions · City Council vote
Columbus leaders introduced a policy package covering large-load utility pricing, water conservation and disclosure, behind-the-meter generation, renewable-energy expectations, and decommissioning plans. The measures remain proposals rather than a blanket ban.
Why it matters
The package directly affects infrastructure cost allocation and site design in Ohio's largest data-center market.
Watch next
Council votes · final rate design · geographic scope · implementation dates
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1408 was amended in committee. The proposal would restrict covered public agencies from entering agreements that conceal a data center's construction, development, location, or agreement. It is not enacted law.
Why it matters
The bill would change confidentiality practices in state and local economic-development negotiations if it advances.
Legacy Investing withdrew from its purchase agreement and land-use application to convert the former Star Tribune printing plant into a 20-MW data center. The proposal is no longer proceeding in its submitted form.
Why it matters
The withdrawal is a clear project exit and reopens a valuable urban redevelopment site to other uses or partners.
Watch next
New buyer or application · site disposition · neighborhood redevelopment process
Planning bodies in De Pere and Milwaukee advanced proposed one-year moratoriums on large-scale data-center development. Each measure still requires final action from its common council.
Why it matters
The recommendations expand entitlement risk while creating immediate demand for ordinance, infrastructure, and community-benefit planning.
Watch next
De Pere council vote · Milwaukee council vote · ordinance scope and exemptions
The Wisconsin Rapids Plan Commission rejected DC Rapids LLC and PNK Group's conditional-use and site-review request for a proposed data center at the former paper mill. Subsequent Common Council action remains the next governing step.
Why it matters
The recommendation is a material project-status change at a prominent redevelopment site, but it is not necessarily the final city decision.
Watch next
Common Council action · moratorium hearing · revised application · redevelopment alternatives
South Bend's mayor signed an executive order barring city departments, employees, and board appointees under mayoral supervision from entering or extending data-center agreements that restrict public disclosure. The order does not regulate projects outside city limits.
Why it matters
The order creates an immediate transparency requirement in a city that supplies wastewater service near a large Amazon development.
Watch next
Implementation guidance · disclosure of existing agreements · county coordination
The St. Joseph County Council voted to begin a process aimed at prohibiting additional hyperscale data-center development. The action is a legislative step and should not yet be described as a final countywide ban.
Why it matters
The vote is a material siting signal in a county with active hyperscale investment and infrastructure commitments.
Brighton Township adopted a six-month moratorium on new data-center applications while it reviews its ordinance. Township staff said no data-center project is proposed or expected there.
Why it matters
The pause changes the local application environment without implying a project cancellation, permit dispute, or active development.
Watch next
Ordinance revisions · expiration or extension · future application activity
DTE Energy's proposed 20-year integrated resource plan would more than double electric capacity and add new natural-gas generation while retiring coal. DTE and intervenors dispute how much of the need is driven by projected data-center load. MPSC review is pending.
Why it matters
The plan frames the generation and transmission buildout needed around multiple gigawatts of proposed southeast Michigan load.
Market reporting identified more than 100 potential large data-center projects in Pennsylvania while emphasizing that many may not proceed and only a small subset has the permits needed to operate. These counts are market intelligence, not approvals.
Why it matters
The gap between speculative pipeline and permitted supply is an opportunity signal for land, power, permitting, and diligence providers.
Watch next
Named project filings · PJM queue milestones · air and water permits · financing
Wisconsin added a reported 10,500 construction jobs from August 2025 to August 2026, with large data-center projects cited as part of the demand context. The figure is a statewide labor-market measure, not a project-specific jobs commitment.
Why it matters
The growth signals immediate opportunity and potential labor constraints for contractors, trades, training providers, and suppliers.
Lake County enacted an eight-month moratorium on data-center applications and development in unincorporated areas while it develops land-use rules. County officials cited no active proposal when the pause was adopted.
Why it matters
The official action remains an active permitting constraint and an open window for stakeholders to shape permanent standards.
The Supreme Court of Ohio directed Trenton to place a proposed data-center-ban charter amendment on a special-election ballot. The ruling resolves ballot access; voters have not yet decided the policy.
Why it matters
The binding procedural decision puts a project already under construction into a live local election and legal-risk environment.
Watch next
Special-election date and result · construction activity · further litigation
Port Huron Charter Township adopted a temporary moratorium covering data centers and other high-resource-demand facilities for up to 12 months or until zoning amendments take effect.
Why it matters
Although adopted before this week's window, the official ordinance remains a current siting constraint and policy-development opportunity.
Watch next
Zoning amendments · extension or repeal · application activity
AWS announced more than $1 billion over five years for education, job training, water and energy conservation, and other priorities in U.S. communities where it operates data centers. Indiana is relevant because of AWS investment there, but no Indiana-specific allocation was announced.
Why it matters
The commitment is a meaningful community-benefit signal for Indiana host communities without overstating it as a state grant or project approval.