JVS SoCal CEO Jeff Carr recently published a timely discussion in Capitol Weekly on the matter of how communities should be empowered with the responsibility of deciding the conditions for allowing data center construction, stressing the importance of local control and the rights of residents.
AI is like a bullet train speeding down the track at 220 miles an hour. We can stand in front of it and get run over, or we can figure out how to get on board and help steer it toward opportunity.
The same should be true of the data centers powering it.
The scale of what’s coming is significant, especially in California. The California Energy Commission reports that data centers now account for about 2% of peak electricity demand in the state’s primary grid, a figure projected to reach 9% by 2040.
This demand comes at a time when our electrical grid already needs significant investment. The Department of Energy has described America’s electric infrastructure as aging and being asked to do more than it was designed to do.
So, let’s put these two enormous challenges together. If technology companies need substantially more electricity to power AI, communities should require some of that investment to help modernize the electrical infrastructure those companies will rely on.
Why should residents alone bear the cost of upgrading a system that must now accommodate some of the country’s largest new electricity users?
Communities have more power and leverage than they realize. They should use it. That could mean requiring data center developers to contribute to grid improvements that benefit the surrounding region. It could also mean finding ways to protect nearby residents from shouldering disproportionate infrastructure costs. These should be part of the negotiations before a project is approved, not discussions that occur after construction begins.