On Wednesday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously gave the green light for staff to work on protections for residents related to the costs of large artificial intelligence data centers in unincorporated areas.
The board directed Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton “to prepare a report addressed to the board within 180 days that evaluates the potential development of large AI data centers,” according to information on the Wednesday agenda.
The report will focus on current or proposed AI data center development, possible impacts on utility rates and infrastructure, and ways to protect residents, according to a statement from Supervisor Jim Desmond, who introduced the motion.
Options could include requirements for on-site energy generation; infrastructure cost-sharing; water-usage limits; and preventing incompatible development near homes, hospitals and schools, according to the statement.
Desmond said that “without clear local protections, the cost of powering these facilities could be quietly shifted onto everyday ratepayers already struggling with high utility bills and a rising cost of living.”
AI data centers “consume staggering amounts of electricity and water, often rivaling the usage of entire cities,” according to the statement.
Such projects “can strain local power grids, drive up rates and overwhelm existing infrastructure — impacts that are felt most acutely by lower-income and rural communities,” the statement said.
“San Diegans should not be forced to subsidize billion-dollar tech corporations through higher electricity and water bills,” Desmond said in the statement “If these companies want to build massive AI facilities here, they should pay the true cost of the infrastructure, energy and water they consume — not pass it on to working families.”
The county was caught “flat-footed” in terms of battery storage facilities, Desmond said during Wednesday’s meeting. In 2024, battery energy storage facilities in Otay Mesa and Valley Center caught fire. “We do want to embrace the technology, but we also have to look at the impacts,” he added.
Supervisor Paloma Aguirre supported the motion, saying that while San Diego County benefits from technological advancement, “but that progress has to be thoughtful and balanced,” she said.
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