Residents in Saline, Michigan, protested outside of DTE headquarters on Wednesday. The group is calling on DTE for a more transparent contract process between developers of a major data center project and the utility company. 

Protesters noted concerns over pollution, higher electrical costs and the impact on the environment.

"I'm so angry about the way this is being thrust upon us, especially with the size of it; it's being the biggest one in the U.S.," said Sarah Brabbs, who lives near the proposed data center site. "It's not like we don't know the impact of these; we have enough data that it's ridiculous, incompetent and irresponsible to steward our land and our resources this way."

A 1.4 gigawatt center is still being discussed, even after it was initially denied by the township. Developer, Related Digital, and property owners launched a lawsuit, which the municipality settled, with some allocations of money for the community in exchange for allowing the project to move forward. 

"The most profitable avenue for companies like DTE involves giving these data centers cut-rate rates on electricity and charging everybody else more to pay for that infrastructure, with the only possible result is that every rate payer in Michigan is just worse off," said Chris Gilmer-Hill, who attended the protest.

On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit talked with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who said she is encouraging residents to put pressure on the Michigan Public Service Commission to scrutinize deals between DTE and the developers and call for a more transparent process ahead of the agency's next scheduled meeting.  

"The thing that I think most upsets me is the way they just ran over residents, you know, all these data centers, just it's like whack-a-mole in Michigan," said Brabbs. 

Wednesday's hearing is just to get public feedback. The Michigan Public Service Commission is expected to meet on Friday and further discuss contracts for the project in Saline Township.