As Switch Ltd. planned a new data center in Gaines Township outside Grand Rapids three years ago, the company considered it critical that Consumers Energy could power the facility entirely with renewable energy.

Michigan’s largest energy provider has inked a new deal with data center operator Switch Ltd. at its facility in Gaines Township in southern Kent County.

GAINES TOWNSHIP –– Developers representing an online retail behemoth are considering a 100-acre site in southern Kent County for a “massive” distribution facility, MiBiz has learned.

While closing coal-fired power plants is often lauded for improving air quality, it’s also saving billions of gallons of water a year from being withdrawn from the Great Lakes and local resources.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy says it hears loud and clear the message from a growing number of large Michigan businesses that want their electricity to come from renewable sources.

About 20 years ago, energy experts predicted a major challenge with producing the amount of electricity needed to accommodate the huge growth of the internet and storing companies’ data on energy-intensive servers.

Driven by relatively affordable real estate and a diverse workforce, the West Michigan region has become a growing hub for call centers, administrative back offices and — to a lesser extent — data centers.

When it comes to economic development efforts in Michigan, practitioners and policymakers say it’s important to legislate the tools to attract and retain companies, not individual projects.

Stakeholders looking to redevelop one of West Michigan’s most storied industrial sites and attract high-quality manufacturing jobs have brought on a new partner.

Two hotels are planned for vacant parcels of land in close proximity to the under-construction Switch Ltd. data center in Gaines Township.