SAN DIEGO — The growing national movement against the infrastructure powering much of the digital economy reached the San Diego County Board of Supervisors last week.
The supervisors unanimously voted to support two state bills regulating data centers after a heated meeting on Aug. 18 where residents expressed their disdain. The bills — Senate Bill 886 and 887 — would require data centers to bear the costs of transmission, grid infrastructure and undergo California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reviews, while creating permitting incentives for projects meeting enhanced clean energy, water and infrastructure standards.
Residents, meanwhile, ripped data centers for exploding utility costs in recent years across the country as more artificial intelligence (AI) facilities have come online or are being proposed. Specifically, many residents, along with the board, worried about the massive consumption of water and electricity to keep the centers running 24 hours per day.
Earlier this year, Supervisor Jim Desmond asked county staff to conduct a study on data centers and how data centers impact electricity rates, water usage, fire risk, noise and infrastructure; ensure communities have a voice; require corporations to pay their fair share for energy and infrastructure; and protect ratepayers. The report is expected to be released in the coming days.
Supervisor and Chairwoman Terra Lawson-Remer brought forward the Aug. 18 item.
“Right now, San Diego County has no specific safeguards in place to protect ratepayers, water supplies, or local communities from these massive facilities,” Desmond said. “Without action, these projects could be approved quietly, locking in long-term costs that working families and small businesses will be forced to absorb. This is about fairness. It’s about accountability. And it’s about standing up for the people who actually live here.”
While a data center has not been proposed in San Diego County, the supervisors looked east to Imperial County, where Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing (ICVM), LLC is proposing a $10 billion, 950,000-square-foot facility. If approved, the facility would be the largest in the state and consume 330 megawatts (with 330 MW of backup storage), include an on-site electrical substation, and a 862-megawatt per hour battery energy storage system (BESS) on about 75 acres, according to media reports.
The power required would be nearly double the amount of electricity used by the entirety of Imperial County in 2024, KPBS reported. Because of the scale of the proposed facility, it is known as a hyperscale data center.
