County Approved 18-Megawatt Data Center Without Board Vote
Sacramento County approved Prime Data Centers’ 18-megawatt expansion at McClellan Park through an administrative process rather than a vote by the Board of Supervisors. The project received environmental and design review and is now under construction, while the approval has intensified debate over public oversight of large, electricity-intensive data centers.
Prime Data Centers broke ground on a 150,000-square-foot, 18-megawatt data center expansion at McClellan Park in Sacramento County. The project was approved Feb. 5 by a county zoning administrator through a special development permit, design review and a California Environmental Quality Act addendum, rather than by the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors. The expansion will increase Prime’s McClellan campus to 26 megawatts across 215,000 square feet.
The project followed existing county procedures, including public notice, advisory council review and environmental mitigation requirements related in part to historic contamination at the former McClellan Air Force Base. Prime says the facility will use closed-loop air and liquid cooling, while Sacramento Municipal Utility District supplies power and operates an on-site substation.
The administrative approval has fueled debate over whether data centers with major electricity demands should receive review by elected officials. That discussion is occurring alongside political opposition to a separate, proposed Link Logistics facility of more than 50 megawatts in Sacramento, with Councilmember Eric Guerra calling for stronger environmental and infrastructure safeguards before new projects move forward.