SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Artificial intelligence data centers can take as much power as a small to medium-sized city, or close to 100,000 homes.
Now, local leaders want to make sure San Diego County is ready before AI data centers move in.
There are now more than 4,000 data centers nationwide, with California among the states with the most. Experts warn the rapid growth could drive up electric bills if costs are passed on to customers.
At a Wednesday meeting, the county Board of Supervisors will discuss how large AI data centers could impact local infrastructure, water use, and who ultimately pays for new power demands.
Even now, experts say AI is already running inside existing data centers in the region, but the concern centers around its capacity.
"The reason we're building new data centers is because we don't have the capacity in the current data centers, and the capacity needs that we're anticipating would not fit in the current data centers. So, in the data centers that are currently in San Diego, I'm certain that there's already AI workloads that are running inside of those data centers," one expert said.
Ultimately, experts say new data centers in the county are inevitable. They'll bring in new jobs and help support major industries.
But the cost can be high without new solutions to help power these cutting-edge facilities.
County staff will have six months to study the impacts and return with policy options aimed at protecting residents before any projects are approved.
