San Jose is hustling to keep the AI-era data center boom inside city limits, even as developers warn that California is starting to lose its grip on the industry. At a recent West Coast panel, builders described long waits for power, steep electricity prices, and a maze of permits that are pushing the biggest projects to states that can move faster and cheaper. City and utility leaders are betting that a new implementation pact will flip that script, but it still has to survive real-world timelines and environmental reviews.
Panelists did not sugarcoat the stakes. They said delays and costs are cutting into California’s share of a national buildout that could reach hundreds of gigawatts. As reported by Bisnow, PG&E CEO Patti Poppe told the crowd at Bisnow’s DICE: West event, “If we’re not careful, we lose the chance,” capturing a growing industry belief that speed to power now outweighs almost every other site factor.
San Jose’s power pact lands a quick win
The city already has one early win to point to. PG&E and San Jose say they have energized Equinix’s new SV12 facility in south San Jose, delivering 40 megawatts of capacity and marking the first project completed under the city’s implementation agreement with the utility. PG&E is pitching the activation as proof that the partnership can cut connection timelines for large customers and scale upgrades when needed. In a press release, PG&E also highlighted that the project will generate new net revenue for the city while the utility expands a nearby substation to be fully scalable.
Rankings and the national shift…