In Silicon Valley, AI data center boom meets local resistance

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.The clash highlights a challenge confronting policymakers nationwide: how to support an industry viewed by government and business leaders as critical to economic competitiveness while responding to growing public concerns about the electricity, water and pollution impacts of the infrastructure required to power it.In California, that debate is particularly fraught because the state is home to many of the companies driving the AI boom, including Google, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic.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 in tax income annually for services such as police, fire protection, libraries, roads and parks.Despite Silicon Valley's wealth, however, many residents remain unconvinced that the benefits of the wave of tech-driven growth tied to AI-focused facilities will be broadly shared."The companies have to prove to us why they deserve our resources and how they're going to give back to the community," said Ellina Yin, a leader of the grassroots I Love San Jose coalition.Yin and others are pushing for stricter public review, more transparency around energy and water use and studies of health and environmental impacts before more projects are approved.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?'" Mahan told Reuters.

First reported by The Times of India.