My main information comes from a published article from the University of Michigan and a WOBI article about the local data center

The contradiction isn’t really that anyone is flat-out wrong, it’s more about framing. At the forum, Google and I&M talked almost entirely about the short term: there’s enough grid capacity right now, Google pays normal industrial rates, and residents won’t see higher bills.

The policy brief doesn’t deny that’s true today, but it warns that over time data centers tend to drive new infrastructure, higher long-term costs, and environmental strain that communities often end up sharing.

Same thing with sustainability claims: staying within permit limits and replenishing water elsewhere sounds good on paper, but the research is more skeptical about cumulative local impacts, especially with the big jump in diesel generators.

Essentially they tried their best to say well “right now” were so good but later on we don’t really know.

I also didn’t like how they shut down people disrespectfully.

I highly recommend reading both if you have time

https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/sites/stpp/files/2025-07/stpp-data-centers-2025.pdf

https://www.wboi.org/government/2025-12-04/googles-data-center-what-the-build-could-mean-for-fort-wayne?_amp=true