New coalition decries ‘parasite’ data centers proposed in City of Industry

Hundreds of San Gabriel Valley residents, organized by the No Data Centers SGV coalition, rallied in Rowland Heights to protest the development of battery energy storage systems and data centers in the City of Industry. The protest was sparked by a unanimous February vote from the City of Industry City Council to change zoning laws, which residents fear could pave the way for converting the vacant Puente Hills Mall into a data center. Concerns voiced by protesters centered on potential impacts to air quality, health hazards from battery storage, and the immense electricity demands of data centers, which they believe would strain the power grid and increase utility costs for surrounding communities. Activists labeled the City of Industry as a "parasite" for extracting resources without providing benefits to neighboring, predominantly working-class and minority communities, drawing parallels to past environmental injustices. Stephanie Sanchez, a Hacienda Heights resident, shared her family's struggles with cancer due to industrial pollution, emphasizing that such developments disproportionately affect communities of color. California lawmakers are also considering bills to remove data center exemptions from state environmental laws and impose new tariffs on major energy users. The protest follows recent successes for anti-data center activists in the region: Monterey Park is pursuing an ordinance for a permanent ban on data centers, with a ballot measure planned, and the city councils of El Monte and Baldwin Park have independently enacted year-long moratoriums on new data center proposals. Similar opposition movements are active in Coachella and Imperial County, California, and elsewhere in the country, such as Sunland Park, New Mexico, and Memphis, Tennessee, where the NAACP has sued xAI.