By state
Data centers in California
81 data centers and projects on our map in California, including 9 projects we track in detail. Each one links to its source. Below: where they are by county, the projects in the news, and the latest reporting from both sides.
Latest news from California
Supports the case against local October 8, 2026
At the October 8 meeting, Supervisors Jesus Eduardo Escobar and Martha Cardenas Singh said they would support a voter ballot measure allowing residents to ban data centers in unincorporated areas. District 4 Supervisor Ryan E. Kelley objected on cost grounds, estimating the measure at roughly half a million dollars. The county already has a temporary data center moratorium in place.
Check it: No ballot measure has been scheduled yet; the board must still vote to place it on a ballot.
Supports the case against local October 7, 2026
Oakland's City Council voted 7 to 0 to pause approval of new data center projects for 45 days, with authority to extend. The author, Councilmember Carroll Fife, said the pause is meant to give city staff time to study water, energy and health impacts before any applications proceed. Oakland becomes the fifth Bay Area city to adopt such a pause.
Check it: A 45 day pause is short; whether it is extended into a real moratorium is the real question.
Supports the case against local October 7, 2026
Mendocino County supervisors voted 4 to 1 to extend their new data center ban until August 21, 2028, the longest allowed under California law, while exempting facilities drawing less than 3 megawatts. The dissenting supervisor said the 3 megawatt threshold was negotiated at lunch and was not fully developed. An ad hoc committee will study permanent rules.
Check it: The exemption below 3 megawatts allows smaller sites during the ban; the long duration is paired with that carve out.
Supports the case against local September 30, 2026
The Palm Springs City Council unanimously extended a temporary moratorium on new data center applications and permits for an additional 22 months and 15 days, through August 25, 2028. Planning Director Chris Hadwin said the city's zoning code does not define data centers or set noise, water, or utility thresholds and the pause gives staff time to draft standards.
Check it: Palm Springs has no pending data center application; the extension is to write zoning rules before any proposal arrives.
Cited by both sides company September 25, 2026
Real estate firm Prologis has proposed a three-story data center at 326 Charcot Avenue in North San Jose that would replace five industrial buildings and total 514,000 square feet with roughly 99 megawatts of capacity, an on-site substation, and a backup generator yard. The project would need San Jose approval and a PG&E agreement to expand a nearby substation, and could open around 2030.
Check it: The 2030 opening is contingent on both city land use approvals and utility interconnection; PG&E substation timelines have slipped elsewhere in California.
Supports the case against local September 23, 2026
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 0 on September 22 to extend the August moratorium on data center construction in unincorporated areas by ten months and fifteen days. A separate 3 to 2 vote adopted a board position opposing new data centers in the county except for enterprise facilities.
Check it: The board position opposing new projects is not a binding ordinance; the moratorium is the enforceable action.
Supports the case against local September 23, 2026
Oakland's Life Enrichment Committee approved a 45 day emergency moratorium on new data center land use approvals introduced by Councilmember Carroll Fife on September 11, sending it to the full City Council for an October 6 vote. Supporters want time to write environmental, operational and public safety rules; the city has already been debating one active data center application in Bayview.
Check it: Whether the full council adopts the emergency ordinance on October 6 and whether current applications are covered.
Supports the case against local September 22, 2026
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to extend the county's data-center moratorium in unincorporated areas by 10 months and 15 days, and in a separate 3-2 vote adopted a policy position opposing most data-center development, including projects outside county jurisdiction. The opposition resolution carves out enterprise data centers built by a single company for its own use.
Check it: The 3-2 opposition vote is a policy stance, not a ban, and the enterprise carve-out is significant. Check whether the county actually sends opposition letters on specific pending projects.
Supports the case against policy September 22, 2026
California enacted SB 1168, SB 886, SB 887, AB 1577, AB 2383, AB 2469, and AB 2619, which together direct the Public Utilities Commission to make data centers pay for transmission and distribution upgrades, require monthly energy reporting to the state, mandate water supply assessments during permitting, and remove certain exemptions. Supporters including TURN and NRDC framed the package as ratepayer protection, while trade groups have previously warned that added rules could push new projects to other states.
Check it: Read each bill number before repeating claims about what the package requires and note that some rules phase in through CPUC rulemakings that are not yet complete.
Supports the case against policy September 22, 2026
Utility Dive walks through each of the seven bills, including SB 1168, which instructs the CPUC to set rates that require data centers to pay their own transmission and distribution upgrade costs, and AB 1577, which requires monthly energy consumption reporting to the California Energy Commission and projected usage disclosures to local permitting agencies. Sponsors cited concerns that data center growth is pushing rates higher for other customers.
Check it: How much the new tariffs actually shift depends on CPUC implementation rulings that have not yet been issued.
Cited by both sides news September 21, 2026
CalMatters reports that three of the seven signed bills shift grid infrastructure costs from residential customers to data center operators, three add reporting requirements on water and other resources, and one narrows exemptions available to the industry. The piece notes that Newsom vetoed a similar water disclosure bill in 2025 and that the Data Center Coalition cites 665,500 jobs and $14.1 billion in taxes tied to California data centers in 2024.
Check it: The 665,500 jobs figure includes indirect and induced jobs from an industry funded study, not just data center employees.
Supports the case against local September 15, 2026
Supervisor Shamann Walton, joined by Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen and Jackie Fielder, introduced a 45-day urgency ordinance to freeze new data center approvals, with an eye toward a permanent citywide ban. Under state law the interim ordinance needs a four-fifths vote and can be extended to nearly two years if the planning commission finds a public-welfare threat. The proposal follows expansion plans at NOVVA's 400 Paul Avenue project in Bayview.
Check it: Whether the four-fifths supermajority is secured for the interim ordinance and how the moratorium treats projects that already have entitlements.
Supports the case against local September 15, 2026
The Hayward City Council took up a legislative referral from Mayor Mark Salinas and two colleagues directing staff to begin amending the zoning code to prohibit new data centers, following pushback against an approved 76.6-megawatt facility with 28 diesel backup generators. Hayward had already amended its code in April 2026 to require major conditional use permits for such projects.
Check it: Whether the referral produces an actual ordinance and how it treats data centers that already hold permits, including the 76.6 MW project.
Supports the case against legal September 9, 2026
Imperial County Superior Court Judge Brooks Anderholt sided with the city of Imperial and the Sierra Club, ruling that county officials illegally shielded a nearly one million square foot data complex from California Environmental Quality Act review through a lot merger. The developer said the project would generate about $12 million in annual tax revenue and vowed to appeal. Planners will need to restart the approval process from the beginning.
Check it: The ruling requires additional review, not permanent denial; the developer has said it will appeal.