{"id":"1794368781660-money-segment","slug":"michigan-town-rejects-ten-billion-dollar-data-center","title":"Michigan town rejects ten-billion-dollar data center","summary":"Lighthouse Sustainability and LEAP did withdraw the $10B Delhi Township data center project after the township board voted 6-0 to oppose it, but the figure was $53 million in annual revenue, not necessarily $54 million in tax revenue; the $20 million community fund was part of the pitch.","publishedAt":"2026-11-11T03:46:21.660Z","channel":{"id":"money","name":"Oncast Money","language":"en"},"show":"Money Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"MISLEADING","notes":"MISLEADING: Lighthouse Sustainability and LEAP did withdraw the $10B Delhi Township data center project after the township board voted 6-0 to oppose it, but the figure was $53 million in annual revenue, not necessarily $54 million in tax revenue; the $20 million community fund was part of the pitch.\nSource: [wkar.org](https://www.wkar.org/michigans-data-center-divide/2026-11-10/delhi-township-no-longer-being-eyed-for-data-center-project-after-community-pushback) an (https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2120349998588051663)","claims":[{"verdict":"MISLEADING","summary":"Lighthouse Sustainability and LEAP did withdraw the $10B Delhi Township data center project after the township board voted 6-0 to oppose it, but the figure was $53 million in annual revenue, not necessarily $54 million in tax revenue; the $20 million community fund was part of the pitch.","sourceName":"[wkar.org](https://www.wkar.org/michigans-data-center-divide/2026-11-10/delhi-township-no-longer-being-eyed-for-data-center-project-after-community-pushback) an","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2120349998588051663","claim":"JUST IN: Developer abandons $10B Michigan data center project after residents reject the proposal, despite promises of $54 million in annual tax revenue & a $20 million community investment fund.","author":"@Polymarket"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2120349998588051663","name":"[wkar.org](https://www.wkar.org/michigans-data-center-divide/2026-11-10/delhi-township-no-longer-being-eyed-for-data-center-project-after-community-pushback) an","kind":"x","verdict":"MISLEADING","author":"@Polymarket"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794368781660-money-segment-michigan-town-rejects-ten-billion-dollar-data-center","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/money","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794368781660-money-segment-michigan-town-rejects-ten-billion-dollar-data-center","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1794368781660-money-segment-michigan-town-rejects-ten-billion-dollar-data-center and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Bill","text":"A developer just walked away from a ten-billion-dollar Michigan data center after the township board voted six to nothing against it."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Six to nothing? Not one vote for fifty-three million a year?"},{"host":"Bill","text":"Polymarket posted the number on X: fifty-four million in annual tax revenue, plus a twenty-million community fund."},{"host":"Adam","text":"I checked. It's actually fifty-three million in annual revenue, not necessarily all tax. The twenty million was part of the pitch."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Even so, that's real money for a small township. They passed a data center moratorium in April, so the developer should've seen this coming."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Right. Lighthouse Sustainability and LEAP pitched a seven-hundred-megawatt campus with no end user identified. That's a huge trust ask."},{"host":"Bill","text":"But here's my problem: towns kill projects like this, then complain about jobs and schools. You can't have it both ways."},{"host":"Adam","text":"A data center isn't a factory. It creates a few dozen permanent jobs, uses enormous water and power, and leaves the town holding the risk."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Fifty-three million a year changes a local budget. Roads, fire, schools. This wasn't nothing."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Unless the tax breaks are so big that number never materializes. These deals are notorious for that."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Oh come on, you're assuming bad faith. The board didn't even negotiate; they said no thanks and the developer left."},{"host":"Adam","text":"They had already passed a moratorium. The board was elected to reflect residents, not to chase a project the community didn't want."},{"host":"Bill","text":"One reply on X said it exactly: 'tripling the township's tax revenue still lost.' They think voters are idiots for rejecting money."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Another reply went further: 'You can't fix stupid.' That's the kind of arrogance that loses these fights."},{"host":"Bill","text":"I'm not saying residents are stupid. I'm saying turning down fifty-three million without a counteroffer is a failure of leadership."},{"host":"Adam","text":"No, the leadership was the six-zero vote. They listened. That's how local government should work."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Fine. But don't be surprised when the next project goes to the next county over and takes the grid upgrades with it."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Then the next county can decide if it wants a data center with no tenant. Good luck to them."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Meanwhile, the energy rumor mill got louder tonight. Zerohedge is floating a claim that Trump offered China a swap: US oil instead of Iranian oil."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Zerohedge says Perdue said that. Until there's official confirmation, I'm filing it under rumors."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Right, the post claims Trump told Xi he'd replace Iranian crude with American barrels. If true, that's a big shift in oil markets."},{"host":"Bill","text":"If true. China's been buying discounted Iranian oil for years. Why would Beijing give that up?"},{"host":"Adam","text":"Maybe to avoid sanctions. Maybe to get a trade deal. But there's no named source beyond Perdue."},{"host":"Bill","text":"A former senator turned Trump ally says something dramatic. Alert the market."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Well, oil traders do react to this stuff. That's why we mention it even unverified."},{"host":"Bill","text":"But we don't build a segment around it. It's a claim, not a fact."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Agreed. The actual crude market will wait for something official."},{"host":"Bill","text":"And if it ever happens, then we'll talk about who loses: Iran, Russia, maybe US shale wins."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Until then, it's a headline in search of a source."}]}