San Jose Mayor talks economic potential of AI energy demands in California

AI and Energy Consumption - OpenAI's planned infrastructure with AMD and Nvidia is projected to use 16 gigawatts, equivalent to the combined power consumption of New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles [2] - San Jose is adding 2 gigawatts of new energy capacity [4] - One gigawatt is comparable to the output of a commercial nuclear reactor, sufficient to power approximately 1 million homes [1] Economic Opportunities - Data centers can provide significant tax revenue and unit cost reduction, potentially representing a major economic opportunity for local economies [3][11] - San Jose has nearly 20% of its jobs in manufacturing, which are at risk of being offshored without continued advancement [9] - Data centers add millions of dollars annually in new revenue for localities, which can be invested in public services [11] Innovation and Sustainability - Growth enables investments in solar, wind, and battery backups, leading to cleaner power mixes [5] - Economies of scale can reduce the per-kilowatt-hour cost for all consumers [6] - Data centers are increasingly using air cooling instead of water cooling [10] AI in Government - San Jose is using AI for early detection of potholes, graffiti, street light outages, and illegal dumping [13] - AI is being used to speed up bus routes and improve city services [13] - The city aims to reinvent government using AI to improve productivity [12]