Democratic House candidate in swing district calls for moratorium on data centers
Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas has proposed a one-year moratorium on new data centers in California's San Joaquin Valley, citing local resident outcry and concerns over electricity and water resources. His platform also calls for data centers to pay full electricity costs and for their revenue to fund local schools. The proposal follows skepticism regarding a potential project by Global Stack LLC at the Tulare County Fairgrounds.
Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas, who is challenging Republican Rep. David Valadao in California’s 22nd Congressional District, has unveiled a new platform advocating for a one-year moratorium on new data centers in the San Joaquin Valley. This initiative comes in response to growing local resident protests and skepticism regarding data center developments across the Central Valley.
Villegas's five-point plan includes requiring data centers to cover the full cost of electricity, safeguarding local water resources, mandating union labor for future data center construction, utilizing data center revenue to fund local schools, and regulating corporate data and artificial intelligence usage. The proposal specifically targets "unchecked big tech developments" that he believes could escalate living costs.
The platform's release follows a town hall in Bakersfield where Villegas addressed voter concerns about these facilities. Local communities, including Hanford and Visalia, are actively discussing how to manage data center proposals, particularly after a company identified as Global Stack LLC began inquiring about developing "resilience" systems at the Tulare County Fairgrounds, which residents suspect are data centers. Water usage is a primary concern, given the region's existing groundwater regulations under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.