Residents push back against San Jose’s data center plans

San Jose's initiative to facilitate the rapid development of new data centers has encountered growing opposition from residents. During a recent City Council meeting, what was intended as a routine policy review became a forum for residents to express alarm over the city's efforts to attract a dozen large energy users, including data centers, by the end of the decade. Key concerns articulated by residents and advocacy groups like Dreaming Collaborative, led by Ellina Yin, include potential environmental harms and the strain these new facilities would place on the city’s power grid. Yin organized a letter-writing campaign and a petition with over 800 signatures, criticizing the lack of meaningful community engagement regarding the implications of AI-focused data center expansion. Erica Garaffo from the City Manager's Office affirmed San Jose's commitment to transparency, stating that all projects would undergo environmental review, public hearings, and community outreach. The city's strategy, which includes a partnership with PG&E announced last July to streamline power provision and grid improvements for 12 projects by 2030, also leverages plans by LS Power Grid to add 2,000 megawatts of power capacity to the South Bay. This move aims to capitalize on an opening created as neighboring Santa Clara, a major data center hub, has reached its own grid capacity limits. Among the projects sparking local concern is a preliminary plan for real estate company Prologis to develop over 1 million square feet of data center space across four buildings on a 159-acre site owned by the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. Despite the City Council approving an exclusive negotiating agreement with Prologis in November, residents like Marcos Espinoza of Alviso in Action claim they have not been consulted. They worry about noise, air pollution, and impacts on sensitive burrowing owl habitats, expressing skepticism that public input will genuinely shape outcomes once projects gain momentum. City officials maintain the project is in its early stages and public engagement will occur later, while council members acknowledge the economic benefits against legitimate resident concerns.