Pittsburg data center draws backlash over community input and environmental concerns
Residents in Pittsburg are opposing the approved AVAIO Perseus data center, citing environmental, water, noise and community-participation concerns. The City Council announced a moratorium on future data center permits, but it does not apply to the project, and city officials are considering whether to extend the pause.
Residents, led in part by Father Jesus Nieto-Ruiz and Faith in Action East Bay, are seeking an independent review of the approved AVAIO Perseus data center in Pittsburg, California. More than 28,000 people have signed an online petition opposing the project over concerns about noise, water use, visual impacts, industrialization and its long-term environmental effects. Residents have also criticized the city for failing to provide some project information in Spanish and for not adequately involving Pittsburg’s large Hispanic community.
The Pittsburg City Council announced a moratorium on permits for future data centers amid the opposition, but the 45-day pause does not affect AVAIO’s project, which was approved in November 2024 at the former Delta View Golf Course. City Manager Darin Gale said the project complied with laws and permitting requirements in effect at the time, underwent reviews and studies, and will use recycled water with a limit of 50,000 gallons per day. Nieto-Ruiz is calling for the moratorium to be extended for two years, while Gale said state law allows two additional extensions but that no decision has been made.