California residents push back on data centers | ABS-CBN News

In Silicon Valley's biggest city, residents and environmental groups are organizing against a wave of proposed data center projects that officials have courted in a bid to position the city as a hub for AI infrastructure. San Jose, a city of nearly 1 million and California's third largest, has embraced the industry's growth. Last year, city leaders announced an agreement with utility PG&E to speed delivery of power to large energy users such as data centers. The city estimates each new facility could generate between $3 million and $6 million annually for services such as police, fire protection, libraries, roads and parks. Mayor Matt Mahan says the answer is not to halt data center development but to ensure it is done responsibly. "People are right to question, 'Is this pushing up my energy costs? Is it using our clean water supplies? Will it degrade quality of life in my city?'" said Mahan. "These are very fair questions." PG&E said new large customers can help spread fixed grid costs across a broader customer base and that, under the right circumstances, about 1 gigawatt of new data center demand could lower bills for other customers by about 1%. But opponents say the city's push to attract AI infrastructure has moved faster than efforts to address its impacts. "I'm afraid that developing this rapidly, without proper due diligence, is going to set us up for a public health crisis," said Ellina Yin, a leader of the grassroots I Love San Jose coalition. Yin said the opposition is not aimed at the traditional data centers that have operated in Silicon Valley for years but at a new generation of AI-focused facilities with far greater demands on electricity and other resources. (Production, Editing, Writing: Elizabeth Mendez.) For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgy6PGn5--qRRixkhltg5hE For more Breaking News & Live Coverage videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgG2ln-vtKXb-oLlGEZc3sR For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmi0mC2kpnrqezd94AAI8jDH For more News Digital News Raw Cuts, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLenM0Ml3NZIE Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWant for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews #SanJoseCalifornia #Resistance #DataCenters #ABSCBNNews