The city council voted 10-1 to approve the server farm Tuesday night without requiring U.S. DataPort to provide its own power. And despite tough talk about limiting air pollution, the council also did not prohibit U.S. DataPort from installing more than 80 backup diesel generators at the complex. Just months after the council unanimously rejected Calpine Corp.'s proposal to build a 600-megawatt plant in North Coyote Valley, the latest power plant proposal could set up another fractious debate about where to put power plants in Silicon Valley. Calpine's project is currently being reviewed by state regulators, who could override the city's opposition.
Server farms are warehouses of powerful machines that essentially run the Internet.
Tax revenue would be dramatically less if U.S. DataPort builds a larger power plant, as nearly two-thirds of the projected revenues would come from utility taxes, which could not be collected if the project is generating its own electricity. The project, which is expected to consume 180 megawatts of power when it is completed in about five years, poses a political dilemma for a city that is fighting Calpine's proposed South San Jose project. U.S. DataPort has planned to build a small natural gas-fired power plant on city land next to the server farm. The plant will generate about 30 to 40 megawatts of electricity during normal operation and 49.9 megawatts running at full tilt, enough to power about 50,000 homes. To blunt criticism that the project could ultimately drain another 150 megawatts from the state's overburdened grid, company officials have told council members privately that the company will seek state approval for a larger plant.