Construction is set to begin on a giant data center that will house and operate more than 438,000 square feet of information and energy storage facilities on a 56-acre property in northeast Gilroy.
The facility, owned and operated by Amazon Data Services, will be located at the southeast end of Arroyo Circle. It will be built in phases, with the first phase consisting of a 218,000-square-foot single story data center that requires a 49 MW connection to PG&E, says a project description on the City of Gilroy’s website.
The first phase will be supported by 25 emergency generators, each with a 2.5 MW capacity to power the data center servers in the event of an emergency. Plans also include a 600-kilowatt generator to power other property functions such as lighting, also in case of an outage.
Phase Two of the project will include another single-story data center building, also about 218,000 square feet.
Future plans also include offsite power transmission upgrades and a potential Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) of up to 50 megawatts, says the city’s website. Plans also include a 2,500–square-foot security building.
The vacant property where the data center will be built is bordered by the Gilroy Premium Outlets, Kaiser Permanente’s South County offices and U.S. 101.
The project was approved on July 3 by Gilroy Community Development Director Sharon Goei, following an extensive environmental impact study of Amazon’s plans.
“The project meets criteria set forth by the city’s Industrial Design Guidelines, based on the provision of modern industrial aesthetic one story design, utilizing landscaping and site improvements that is compatible with surrounding industrial, medical offices and commercial buildings,” says a July 3 letter to Amazon Data Services from Goei.
Amazon and other tech companies have built many new data centers in Silicon Valley and the surrounding region in recent years to keep up with increasing demand for cloud storage related services. The centers, which house giant computer servers that run 24 hours a day, require significant volumes of electrical power capacity, and the one coming to Gilroy is no exception.
In response to general questions about data center power usage, officials with Silicon Valley Clean Energy noted that 10 MW of energy is equivalent to the power needed for 10,000 homes. The Amazon data center will include a 49 MW connection, with the power hungry server buildings to be phased in.
Pamela Leonard, Deputy Director of Marketing & Communications for SVCE, said SVCE currently serves numerous data centers in the region. None have created any issues with energy consumption.
“The growth of data centers is signaling a big shift, and Silicon Valley Clean Energy is prepared to work with companies in our service area to provide clean energy and community benefits,” Leonard said. “When considering potential future demand from data centers, planning is a crucial step to accommodate all necessary requirements for interconnection. With sufficient lead time and planning, capacity to meet this load can be built.”
A representative for Amazon Web Services did not respond to an email requesting more details about the Gilroy data center project.
The city’s project description does not include a detailed construction timeline, and does not specify if or when the data center would be operating at its full electrical capacity.
