US EditionData Centers in Nvidia’s Hometown Stand Empty Awaiting Power
Two data centers remain unenergized due to aging power infrastructure and regulatory delays; Silicon Valley Power's $450 million upgrade aims for completion by 2028.
- Years ago, Digital Realty Trust Inc. applied to build a Santa Clara data center, but Bloomberg reported the finished shells remain vacant and unpowered as Silicon Valley Power cannot supply enough electricity.
- Aging power infrastructure and permitting setbacks have left new sites constrained, with Silicon Valley Power evaluating requests and advancing a $450 million system upgrade due in 2028.
- A brochure for the property shows power via an on-site substation with 12 megawatts available now and expansion to 48 megawatts at Digital Realty Trust Inc.'s Santa Clara site, a vacant 430,000-square-foot four-floor building.
- In high-demand markets like Silicon Valley, waits for power outstrip typical lead times, with Digital Realty leasing about 61% of its $9.7 billion pipeline, while a three-year wait for energy is common.
- Rising AI demand and heavy investor commitments are set to increase pressure on local power systems, with BloombergNEF projecting electricity demand more than doubles by 2035 and Blue Owl Capital investing over $50 billion.
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17 Articles
Several data centers in California, built for the age of artificial intelligence, remain idle because local utilities cannot provide enough electricity, highlighting the broader risks to the U.S. power grid as demand increases. Data center structures in Santa Clara, California, remain without power because the municipal utility, Silicon Valley Power (SVP), cannot meet their enormous energy needs.
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Republican Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who led the letter, wrote that “as a result of big tech’s misleading energy use claims, coal and natural gas plants are being shut down, putting communities across the country at an increased risk of blackouts over the next few years.”
US data centers sit dark as electrification lags
Some US data centers are standing empty because of a lack of electricity, highlighting challenges in keeping up with ballooning demand for AI. One California facility, located in Nvidia’s hometown, has been awaiting energization for six years, Bloomberg reported; an energy company estimates large data centers could take up to seven years to come online. “The biggest barrier to progress isn’t money but energy,” an MIT Technology Review reporter n…
The Mercury news
siliconvalley.comNvidia’s data centers in Santa Clara stand empty awaiting power
Two of the world's biggest data center developers have projects in Nvidia Corp.'s hometown that may sit empty for years because the local utility isn't ready to supply electricity.
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