Residents Push Back On Planned Data Centers

San Jose residents turned a City Council policy review on April 21 into a protest over the city’s plans to attract new data centers. (sanjosespotlight.com) (localnewsmatters.org) Speakers at the meeting said they worried about diesel and natural-gas backup generators, electricity demand and the concentration of industrial uses near homes in Alviso and other neighborhoods. (sanjosespotlight.com) (localnewsmatters.org) Ellina Yin of Dreaming Collaborative organized a letter-writing campaign ahead of the meeting and said a petition collected more than 800 signatures. She said residents felt “blindsided” by how quickly the city’s plans were moving. (sfgate.com) (sanjosespotlight.com) City officials said the projects are still at an early stage and that each proposal would face separate environmental review and public comment before approval. Officials also said the facilities under discussion in San Jose are smaller than some of the giant projects that have drawn backlash elsewhere. (sanjosespotlight.com) (localnewsmatters.org) The fight comes after San Jose signed a July 25, 2025 implementation agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to speed power delivery for large energy customers, including data centers. The city said PG&E had requests for nearly 2,000 megawatts of new data-center demand in the San Jose area. (sanjoseca.gov) Mayor Matt Mahan said at the time that San Jose wanted to become the West Coast’s premier data-center hub, tying the buildout to artificial-intelligence growth and grid investment. PG&E said every 1,000 megawatts of new demand from data centers could lower customer bills by 1% to 2%. (sanjoseca.gov) One project already in the city pipeline shows why neighbors are alarmed. A proposed San Jose Data Center at 1657 Alviso-Milpitas Road would span 396,914 square feet, carry a maximum electrical load of 99 megawatts and include 224 renewable-natural-gas generators rated at 0.45 megawatts each, plus diesel backup units. (sanjoseca.gov) That project’s city page says it sits near an existing power plant and wastewater treatment facility, and its latest addendum followed earlier environmental review certified in 2022. The page lists Planning Commission hearings in March 2025, underscoring that some data-center proposals are already moving through formal approvals. (sanjoseca.gov) For residents who showed up on April 21, the immediate fight was not just one building. It was whether San Jose’s push for power-hungry tech growth will be decided before neighborhoods can slow it down. (sanjosespotlight.com) (localnewsmatters.org)