Silicon Valley’s Data Center Expansion, Opportunity or Concern?

Good afternoon, my friends! 

Wondering where you land on this!  Just yesterday, BlackRock signaled interest in a hyperscaler data center deal to build centers as fast as they can.  Last week, Supermicro announced its largest Silicon Valley campus yet, a new DCBBS facility right here in San Jose focused on next-gen AI data centers. We’re talking about a 32.8-acre expansion and more than 714,000 square feet, bringing their local footprint close to 4 million square feet.  That's the equivalent of 70 NFL football fields lined up.  Or a space 3 times bigger than Disneyland.  Sheeeeeeesh! 

In plain English… there is still a lot of momentum behind AI, tech, and the stock market. Some people are going to make a lot of money from this wave.

But here’s the real question…

Do we actually want more data centers in Silicon Valley?

In other parts of the country, the answer is becoming a pretty firm “no.” Communities are pushing back hard. One extreme example last month made national headlines in Indianapolis, where a council member supported a data center project and then woke up to 13 bullet holes in his home and a “No Data Centers” note. That’s obviously an outlier (and come on, relax, people), but it shows how heated this topic is getting.

Here in Silicon Valley, it’s easy to feel like we live in a bit of a bubble. Tech growth has always been the engine. But even here, there are some real concerns that are getting harder to ignore.

These facilities use massive amounts of electricity and water. In fact, just last year, data centers in Santa Clara hit max energy capacity. Some projects were even expected to sit empty for years simply because there wasn't enough power available.

Now it’s gotten to the point where PG&E is partnering with San Jose on about $1.5 billion in infrastructure upgrades to keep up with demand.

And let’s be honest… who’s paying for that?  You. Me. Us. 

And that’s just the cost side. There are also ongoing conversations around environmental and potential health impacts.

That said, I know not everyone sees this the same way. Some people view this as a huge opportunity for jobs, innovation, and long-term growth.

Curious where you land on this…

Would you want to see more data centers built here, or do you think we’re hitting a limit?

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