Data centers — their economic viability and environmental impacts — were the main topic of the Santa Clara City Council’s most recent meeting.

At its Oct. 6 meeting, the council discussed water use and air quality standards for its biggest industrial customers.

The item, proposed at a previous meeting by Council Member Suds Jain, aimed to examine whether to constrain how much water data centers use and possibly regulate them.

“We really need to hold the data centers accountable to water use and electricity use. I want to make sure that we have good, sound requirements in place,” Jain said. “We can’t impact the quality of life for our residents … We need to have these guardrails in place to protect our residents.”

City Manager Jovan Grogan told the council that the city has not approved any new data centers since 2023. 

Council Member Kevin Park iterated his stance that Silicon Valley Power’s (SVP) expansion serves data centers more than residents. The only reason the city has paused construction of new data centers, he said, is because SVP doesn’t have the electricity to service them.

“We’re not stopping new applications because we’re being kind about new data centers. We’re doing it because we don’t have the resources to support new data centers because we are already in deficit,” he said. “This is like throwing bricks into the Grand Canyon.”

SVP’s rates have increased 56% since 2016.

Reena Brilliot, director of economic development and sustainability, said assuming rate increases are due to data centers is “spurious.”

“Residential rates can go up, but it is also possible, and true, that data centers aren’t causing those rates to go up,” she said.

Grogan noted that roughly 71% of data centers are used for purposes other than AI.

Many local data centers use recycled water to cool them. Data centers contribute $35.2 million a year to the city’s general fund.

“The issues in Santa Clara are not analogous to many of the concerns that have been raised nationally and even in other Bay Area cities with regard to data centers,” Grogan said.

Council Member Karen Hardy’s requests to add two items, one proposing a moratorium on new data center construction and another proposing the elimination of non-disclosure agreements for data center projects, were pushed to a subsequent meeting.

Despite not being discussed, the item under consideration seemed to include Hardy’s proposed moratorium. 

Hardy said the city has been approaching data centers in a “loosey goosy” kind of way. 

“We need to put the brakes on all of this until we have done the work,” she said.

Vice Mayor Albert Gonzalez said he was uncomfortable with a moratorium on new data centers.

The council unanimously referred the item back to city employees, prioritizing the water use and air quality concerns. 

Grogan was reluctant to commit to a timeline for the item returning to the council.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave. in Santa Clara.

Members of the public can participate in the city council meetings on Zoom at https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/99706759306; Meeting ID: 997-0675-9306 or call 1 (669) 900-6833, via the City’s eComment (available during the meeting) or by email to PublicComment@santaclaraca.gov.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com 

Previous Santa Clara City Council Meetings:
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Santa Clara Handwaves VTA Civil Grand Jury Report
Santa Clara Continues to Add Housing — at the Cost of Retail