Dive brief:
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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed seven bills into law Monday to give communities more information proposed data centers‘ energy, water, labor and land use to help weigh their economic costs and benefits.
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The new laws require data centers to “pay their fair share of network upgrade costs,” disclose water use to local governments and waive eligibility for general environmental exemptions, according to the governor’s office.
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They come after Los Angeles County’s planning director orders a temporary ban on the development large-scale AI data centers in unincorporated areas of California’s most populous county, according to multiple news reports.
Diving knowledge:
California is home 296 data centersthe third highest number in the US, according to Data Center Map.
“Communities must deal with the consequences: increased demand for electricity, grid constraints, water use and pollution,” Newsom said in a statement. “With these laws, we’re making sure that Californians remain in the driver’s seat and that those who profit from data centers don’t do so at our expense.”
The bills Newsom signed Monday include:
SB 1168: Request a review by the California Public Utilities Commission data center energy consumption and ensure they pay for transmission and distribution improvements and load increases. “Californians’ utility bills are already among the highest in the nation, and the rapid growth of data centers threatens to send rates through the roof,” state Sen. Jerry McNerney, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement.
SB 886 and SB 887: Require data centers to pay all infrastructure upgrade and generation costs, bear a larger share of wildfire mitigation costs and liability, and undergo an environmental review. The bills would also ensure that local communities have a say in data center projects, according to a news release from state Sen. Steve Padilla, the bill’s sponsor. “These are some of the strongest in the country data center taxpayer protections – stop Big Tech from sticking California families with the bill for their data centers,” Padilla said in a statement.
AB 1577: A monthly report is required data center energy consumption and efficiency metrics to the California Energy Commission and estimated energy use to local agencies as part of permitting.
AB 2383: encourages the use of data centers on-site clean energy resources to help California “responsibly plan for the future of our power grid while keeping electricity costs low for consumers,” bill sponsor Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur said in a statement.
AB 2469 and AB 2619: Strengthen supervision data center water use by requiring potential data center developers to complete a water supply assessment and develop a water shortage plan during permitting and by establishing a statewide water reporting requirement for obtaining and renewing business licenses. “Every drop counts”, Assemblywoman Diane Papan, chairwoman of the Assembly Water Committee and sponsor of the bills, he said in a statement. “We can’t manage what we don’t measure.”
