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Google is behind a 1GW data center campus proposed in Van Buren, near Detroit, Michigan.

The development, thus far known as Project Cannoli, was proposed by Panattoni in December 2025.

While at the time the end user was not shared, Google confirmed on Tuesday, March 17, that it was the company behind the project, as per a report from the Detroit Free Press.

The data center campus is set to be constructed on around 130 acres of a 282-acre plot of land south of Interstate 275. north of Interstate 94, and east of Haggerty Road.

Based on the site plans, it seems likely that the site will have three data centers, as well as a networking building and an office building. The total footprint will exceed 800,000 sq ft (74,320 sqm). Walbridge will serve as the general contractor on the project.

In addition to the gigawatt-scale data center campus, Google has shared that it is partnering with DTE Energy to bring 2.7GW of "new, clean resources" to the local grid, which will be used to power the data center.

A blog post shared by the cloud company states that the power resources will include solar power, advanced storage technologies, and demand flexibility. Through a clean capacity acceleration agreement with DTE, this will help the state move away from coal-fired power.

According to a report from TechCrunch, this will be broken down into 1.6GW of solar power, 400MW of four-hour energy storage, 50MW of long-duration storage, and 300MW of "additional clean resources." TechCrunch asked if this could include natural gas, but did not receive a response.

The remaining 350MW will be covered by demand response. In August 2025, Google partnered with Indiana Michigan Power to enable demand response capabilities at its data centers under its jurisdiction.

Google will cover its electricity costs and infrastructure needs for the campus. In addition, it is setting up a $10m Energy Impact fund that will help "scale and accelerate energy affordability initiatives that are designed to drive down monthly bills for communities in Michigan."

Google has previously made a similar "bring your own power" agreement with Xcel Energy.

Much of Michigan's data center market is centered around Detroit. A handful of large projects have been proposed for the state of late, including a 1GW campus by Related Digital that is set to serve as part of OpenAI's Stargate project, and a 1,000-acre campus proposed in September 2025.

Parts of northern Michigan got up to 10 inches of snow Friday while winds of 70 mph or more whipped across the southern part of the state knocking out power as severe weather made its way over the Great Lakes.

Beginning late Saturday through Monday, another major storm could bring up to 3 feet of snow to the Upper Peninsula, forecasters say.

That blast could bring anywhere from 1-3 feet of snow to the Upper Peninsula.

High winds hit the region throughout the day Friday, sparking power outages and warnings of downed powerlines, and a high wind warning for all of southeast Michigan until midnight Friday.

As of Friday night, more than 93,224 DTE customers were without power, according to the utility's online outage map. Southwest Detroit, Livonia and West Bloomfield Township were among the hardest hit areas.

Consumers Energy said around 54,942 of its customers were affected, with the area east of Grand Rapids and southwest Allegan County facing the most outages.

The city of Warren issued a public safety alert because of downed power lines throughout the city Friday night.

Areas of concern in Warren included:

The alert advised people to stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire and not to attempt to touch or remove any.

DTE said more than 1,000 storm response team members were working to restore power "as quickly and safely as possible."

"We're also bringing in lineworkers from outside the area to help speed restoration," DTE said in a storm alert on its website.

The highest winds in southeast Michigan included gusts of 71 mph recorded at 12:25 p.m. in Ann Arbor and at 12:49 p.m. in Romulus. In Detroit, a gust of 66 mph was recorded just before 1 p.m.

Winds in southwest Michigan have topped out in the upper 40s and low 50s, according to NWS.

Residents are advised to remain in lower levels of their home and avoid windows. Drivers should use caution if they must travel, NWS said.

Meanwhile, Up North, the greatest snowfall totals so far have been reported near Vanderbilt, in Otsego County, which got 10 inches, according to NWS data. In the Upper Peninsula, weather spotters near Escanaba reported 9 inches while Cedarville has received 8 inches.

The NWS said another "major winter storm" will hit Michigan late Saturday night and last into Monday.

That blast could bring anywhere from 1-3 feet of snow to the Upper Peninsula, the agency said. It will be accompanied by high winds, especially Sunday night into Monday, when travel will become "difficult to impossible," the NWS advised.

It will also bring a wintry mix to the northern half of Lower Michigan and a mix of snow and rain, including possible heavy rain and thunderstorms, to the southern part of the state.

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Wind gusts of over 70 miles per hour have wreaked damage in Southeast Michigan on Friday, including thousands of power outages.

The CBS News weather team says the wind gust reports during the day included the following:

A high wind warning went into effect early Friday and will remain in effect for Metro Detroit until about 10 p.m. Friday.

A powerful Alberta Clipper storm system is charging through the Great Lakes, which will crank up the pressure difference between a deep low to the north and higher pressure to the south.

The steep pressure gradient works like the atmosphere stepping on the gas pedal, accelerating winds across the region.

Add in a fast-moving jet stream overhead and some efficient mixing of stronger winds down to the surface, allowing the potential for southwest wind gusts to exceed 50 to 55 mph.

As a result of the high winds, the Detroit People Mover has suspended service for the remainder of Friday due to "multiple types of debris landing on parts of the guideway" from the winds.

DTE Energy says more than 1,000 storm response team members are working in the field to restore power.

Ahmad Bajjey contributed to this report.

In:

A surprise tornado in early March struck southern Michigan on the afternoon of Friday, March 6, leaving at least 4 dead and at least 12 others injured across Branch and Cass counties, according to local officials.

The Branch County Sheriff's Office reported 3 dead and 12 injured, while the Cass County Sheriff's Office confirmed 1 dead and "several others" injured. The storm formed near Edwardsburg and moved over a 50-mile swath through Three Rivers and Union City, causing widespread damage according to local authorities and eyewitness accounts.

The tornado was one of several reported across the middle United States on March 6. A tornado was also confirmed in Oklahoma, leaving 2 dead.

Here's what we know.

How the Michigan tornado formed

As a powerful storm system moved through southern Michigan on Friday, a storm cell producing tornadic conditions barreled through Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties, leaving damage across 50 miles between Edwardsburg, Three Rivers and Union City, according to reports from the National Weather Service.

The storm prompted tornado warnings from the NWS offices in Grand Rapids and northern Indiana starting before 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, affecting parts of Calhoun, St. Joseph, Cass and Branch counties as it moved at about 35 mph, said NWS meteorologist Alex Mannion.

At least one "large and extremely dangerous" tornado was confirmed by storm chasers, trained spotters, broadcast media and public videos from Three Rivers in St. Joseph County, Michigan, the NWS said. The NWS office in Grand Rapids later confirmed a tornado at 4:43 p.m. just north of Union City in southeastern Calhoun County.

The aftermath

Reports as of 4:30 p.m. included damage near Edwardsburg in Cass County, where trees were knocked down, and a house was damaged near Juno Lake, Mannion said. In St. Joseph County, a video sent to the weather service showed a tornado hitting a Menards store, damaging part of the roof while debris flew through the air. Numerous reports of significant damage came from southwest of Three Rivers.

The weather service office in Northern Indiana said it intends to send a meteorology team out on the morning of March 7 to conduct a storm survey to confirm damages left by the storm and determine whether there was more than one tornado and how intense the winds were.

Additional severe weather is possible overnight into March 7 and could influence how early the meteorologists are able to begin the survey, the weather service said. If warnings are issued, residents should seek shelter immediately and continue monitoring trusted weather and news sources for updated information.

4 dead, multiple others injured

The Branch County Sheriff's Office reported 3 dead and 12 injured on Friday near Union City. Of the 12 injured, three were taken to area hospitals. "Our thoughts are with those who have lost family, friends, and property during this incident," the Branch County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The Cass County Sheriff's Office later reported another person confirmed dead and "several injured." It said "multiple large structures — including homes and pole barns — sustained damage ranging from major structural impacts to complete destruction."

In St. Joseph County, the Sheriff's Office advised people to avoid traveling to or through locations in the city of Three Rivers, areas to the east and northeast of the community and in Fabius Township. The sheriff's office also advised people to avoid damaged structures and structures that had been marked by emergency personnel.

Gov. Whitmer activates state emergency center

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced late Friday that she activated the state's emergency operations center to respond to the severe weather.

"Tonight, I am activating our State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate an all-hands-on-deck response to severe weather in southwestern Michigan," Whitmer said on her social media channels. "By taking this action, we can ensure the state can monitor and respond to local requests.

"I want to thank all the first responders on the ground who reacted quickly to keep Michiganders safe."

Michigan weather forecast for Saturday, March 7

It's possible lower Michigan faces more severe weather on Saturday, March 7. More thunderstorms are slated to move through lower Michigan starting Saturday morning, with some capable of producing hail and damaging winds, according to the forecast Saturday morning.

Expect a high of 68 degrees in Detroit, with a low of 38.

Michigan weather radar

USA TODAY contributed.

The saga of Detroit Lions running back continues. The latest development comes from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who in his latest batch of of NFL Combine buzz said that Montgomery is prepared to the leave Detroit.

“And at running back, the Lions’ David Montgomery wants out, has a reasonable contract (owed $6 million in 2026) and is 28,” Fowler wrote. “That has value. Word out of Indy is that Detroit would want a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder) in return.”

But the Lions running back responded to that report on Twitter, seemingly refuting Fowler’s rumor.

The situation between the Lions and Montgomery has been back-and-forth all offseason. It began with Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ comments at the end of the season, which seemed to suggest that Montgomery was unhappy with how 2025 went.

“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player. He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him,” Holmes said.

There was some optimism that the Lions had smoothed things over when Montgomery offered some hopeful comments during Super Bowl week in regards to playing with Jahmyr Gibbs.

“I just think having us both together and us both being as selfless as we are, I think it’s really important. It’s something special to be a part of,” Montgomery told NFL Network.

But when Holmes spoke again this past week at the NFL Combine, it sounded more like things remained where they were at the end of the season.

“We love David. He’s a great player. We would love to have him. Kind of want to put last year in the rearview and just move forward. But a player has to want to be at a certain place as well, so those conversations are still fluid and we’re just kind of seeing how it goes,” Holmes said.

Last year, Montgomery saw a significant decline in touches and playing time, as Detroit featured Gibbs more as the primary back. His carries dropped from 185 in 14 games (13.2 carries per game) to just 158 in 17 games (9.3). He went from averaging 27.9 snaps per game to just 24.0. While some of that could certainly be attributed to the Lions trailing in more games in 2025 than 2024, it appear Montgomery feels he’s not being used to his full potential.

Montgomery still has two years remaining on his contract with the Lions after signing a two-year extension in the middle of the 2024 season. He’s set to cost $8.4 million against the cap this year, with $4.9 million still guaranteed. If the Lions were to trade him, he’d clear up just over $3.5 million in cap space.

We’ll see where this goes. The Lions continue to express their desire to keep Montgomery around, but they have also said they would do right by the player. Things could heat up with the new league coming just over a week away on March 11.