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Data Center Approvals and Power Delivery Remain Separate Tests
Google’s planned 1-GW Michigan campus cleared final site-plan approval, the clearest project milestone in the latest reporting. The decision, reported October 15, advances a project already undergoing early construction; it does not establish that its projected electricity and water needs are ready to be met.
Yesterday’s Virginia reporting approached that distinction from another direction: lawmakers are proposing to tie development permissions to utility progress, alongside broader permitting pauses. These are different jurisdictions at different stages—not evidence of a common halt to expansion.
Van Buren Township’s Planning Commission approved Google’s Project Cannoli 5-1. The six-building campus has a 20-year DTE Energy agreement, with initial electricity demand projected for December 2027 and a ramp to 1 GW within a year. Potential water use of 3.6 million gallons daily makes resource delivery consequential even after the land-use milestone.
Virginia Mercury reported competing proposals ahead of January’s legislative session. SB 843 would pause data-center permits and certain supporting infrastructure approvals from July 2027 through July 2030; alternatives would link approvals to utility-queue progress or completed distribution connections. The debate has moved beyond the advocacy demand for a pause covered in the previous briefing to specific legislative mechanisms. None is enacted.
Wisconsin Watch revealed that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. signed at least five developer nondisclosure agreements during 2023–2025, sometimes long before public announcements. This is new visibility into historical negotiations, not new project agreements or a change in permit status.
Yandex continued recovery from October 8–11 strikes on three Russian data centers. Selected services have been restored or prioritized, but full recovery timing remains unclear. Yesterday’s Council on Foreign Relations analysis examined the resilience implications; it did not establish a fresh attack.
Key Points
- Virginia’s utility-linked proposals would make infrastructure readiness a condition of development permission, rather than a separate delivery challenge. That is a consequential policy mechanism to watch, although its legislative support and final scope remain unsettled.
- Scrutiny is reaching earlier into development. Wisconsin’s NDA disclosures concern what the public can learn before projects are announced, while Virginia’s proposals concern when projects may receive approval. Neither establishes a general retreat from construction.
Implications
For site developers and financiers, a completed planning vote, a long-term power agreement and actual energization remain distinct milestones. Michigan’s approval reduces one category of uncertainty without resolving the campus’s full delivery schedule.
Virginia’s potential exposure extends beyond the data-center permit itself because some proposals also cover supporting infrastructure. Project-specific consequences will depend on bill language, treatment of pending work and passage—not on the existence of a moratorium proposal alone.
Watchpoints
Watch
Michigan: evidence of remaining approvals, utility-delivery milestones and water arrangements, alongside the township-board recall effort and reported construction impacts.
Watch
Virginia: bill language covering pending projects and supporting infrastructure, plus whether utility-linked restrictions attract legislative support.
Watch
Wisconsin: whether the proposed NDA restriction formally includes the state development agency and advances.
Watch
Yandex: verified restoration milestones and implemented physical-protection measures, rather than discussions of possible defenses.
Fallout
The most concrete movement is a Michigan planning approval. Proposed Virginia restrictions, Wisconsin transparency scrutiny and Yandex recovery carry different kinds of risk and should not be treated as equivalent changes in project status.
Michigan Project Execution
Project Cannoli advances through local planning while substantial power and water requirements remain central to delivery.
Fresh developments
The approval reported October 15 clears the final site plan for Google’s six-building campus. Initial power demand is projected for December 2027, with demand expected to reach 1 GW within a year.
Why we noticed
This is an actual approval, not another capacity announcement. But the DTE Energy agreement and planning vote do not establish completion of every permit, utility upgrade or water arrangement. Residents’ construction complaints and a township-board recall effort add local execution risk.
Watch for:
- Confirmed utility and water-delivery arrangements.
- Remaining approvals and any material effect from local political challenges.
Virginia Approval Restrictions
Lawmakers are developing several ways to pause expansion or connect permissions to utility readiness.
Fresh developments
Virginia Mercury detailed a proposed July 2027–July 2030 permitting pause and alternatives linked to Dominion Energy’s large-load queue or completed distribution connections.
Why we noticed
Specific legislative proposals give the previously tracked planning and infrastructure-cost debate a more direct route to affecting project schedules. Passage and the treatment of existing projects remain unresolved.
Watch for:
- Which proposals advance and how they define covered projects and infrastructure.
- Whether pending applications receive exemptions or transitional treatment.
Wisconsin Development Transparency
New reporting broadens the documented use of confidentiality agreements in state-level data-center negotiations.
Fresh developments
Wisconsin Watch identified at least five developer NDAs signed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. during 2023–2025. Rep. Clint Moses plans to extend a proposed NDA ban to the agency.
Why we noticed
The findings clarify how long development discussions can precede public scrutiny. A legislative response could change future negotiation procedures, but no ban is established as enacted and no project approval changed through this disclosure.
Watch for:
- Formal inclusion of the agency in proposed legislation and evidence of legislative progress.
Yandex Operational Recovery
Recovery remains incomplete after physical attacks disrupted multiple facilities and dependent services.
Fresh developments
Current reporting continued to describe restoration following strikes in Sasovo, Kaluga and Vladimir between October 8 and 11. Russian ministries discussed protection against drone attacks.
Why we noticed
The continuing incident demonstrates how facility damage can disrupt cloud, payments and other services together. It does not establish a sector-wide change in security practices, and discussion of defenses is not evidence of deployment.
Watch for:
- Verified full-service restoration and the extent of remaining capacity loss.
- Physical-protection measures actually put into operation.
Final Thought
The useful distinction is not simply whether data centers are advancing or facing resistance. It is which uncertainty has actually been resolved: Michigan cleared a planning hurdle; Virginia is debating new ones. Neither substitutes for evidence that infrastructure can be delivered.