So, Who Is Really Behind Project Peninsula?
Something strange is happening in the townships west of Grand Rapids. A retired farmer and a progressive environmentalist walked into the same meeting last month. So did a nurse and a libertarian. Data centers have a way of doing that. The coalition forming against these projects is about as nonpartisan as Michigan gets.
Formal opposition groups have sprung up across Lowell, Gaines, and Solon townships. Residents United for a Healthy Lowell and Together Gaines are two of them, built around people who would not normally be in the same room. Their pitch is that whatever you think about tech or AI, a facility that runs loud around the clock, draws enormous amounts of water and power, and brings very few permanent jobs is not the kind of neighbor than rural communities signed up for.
The economic development agency facilitating some of these projects, a Kent County organization called The Right Place, has not made things easier for itself. It arranged meetings between developers and township officials under nondisclosure agreements, cutting residents out. When three townships sent a joint letter asking for answers, CEO Randy Thelen declined to respond, citing the letter being unsigned and the controversy as his reasons. One of those projects, an 800-acre development called "Project Peninsula," still has no publicly identified developer.
The Lowell Township recall sits inside this broader pattern. Three board members voted down a six-month moratorium and now face removal from office. Solon Township went the other direction, passing its own moratorium while drafting new zoning rules. Same pressure, two very different outcomes. What's giving the opposition traction is that the industry keeps handing them resources. Microsoft's own 2025 sustainability report acknowledged a 168% spike in energy use and a 23.4% increase in total carbon emissions since 2020. Residents opposing a Microsoft project don't have to make that argument themselves. They can just quote the company.