Plans to build a data center in Benton Township, Michigan, have stalled after pressure from environmental campaigners.

The Herald-Palladium reported that plans to build a $3 billion data center project have been delayed.

Earlier this year, DCD reported that an unnamed company was looking to build an ‘AI data center’ on 280 acres on Yore Avenue near Lake Michigan College.

Located east of Benton Harbor, Benton Charter Township is a charter township in Berrien County, Michigan, located on the east side of Lake Michigan.

Joey Andrews, state representative, told Benton Harbor city commissioners that environmental groups “wanted us to put extraneous requirements on these data centers, that basically would have prevented them from being able to do business in Michigan.”

He added: “We’ve had some strong words on our end with some of these organizations that let them know that we consider it pretty insulting that they’ll raise money talking about racial equity injustice and then when a project that actually resolves equity injustice comes to our community, they suddenly decide that it’s not acceptable.”

Andrews said the project has received strong support from unions due to the construction jobs it would create and that Benton Harbor would benefit from the data center build.

Current legislation requires municipal water to be used, but Benton Township’s water plant alone does not have the capacity to provide the amount of water required.

Andrews said Benton Harbor’s water system would need to be tapped into.

Earlier this year, the Michigan Senate passed a bill to extend tax breaks for data centers in the state. Other states such as Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois have passed similar legislation.

Michigan doesn’t have a major data center market. Switch is the most notable player in the state; 365, Bedrock, and Sentinum are also present.