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Oakland becomes fifth in the Bay Area to pass a data center moratorium

Yesterday, the Oakland City Council successfully passed a 45-day moratorium on new data center development with seven votes, making Oakland the first city in Alameda County and the fifth city in the Bay Area, following Richmond and San Francisco, to temporarily halt new data centers. The moratorium gives the city time to study the potential impacts of data centers and consider permanent protections before any AI Data Centers are proposed in Oakland.

Without local safeguards, hyperscale data centers could place significant new demands on Oakland’s electricity and water systems, contribute additional pollution, and expose residents to higher infrastructure and utility costs.

This resolution is the latest in a wave of grassroots action against data centers. So far, 26 resolutions, moratoriums or bans on data center development have been proposed across California. 

Community leaders and environmental advocates released the following statements:

“This is a monumental moment for the community members who made it perfectly clear that they don’t need or want these water intensive data center projects that will only raise bills and pollute communities,” said Isabel Penman, Food & Water Watch Senior Organizer. “Oakland City Council made the right choice by listening to the growing calls of Oaklanders to halt the buildout of these data centers.”

“We know this moment in Oakland is part of a wider nationwide fight,” shares Dohee Kim, Energy Democracy Campaign Organizer with the Local Clean Energy Alliance. “Moratoriums are temporary solutions, but our communities deserve the right tools and the proper avenues to determine meaningful accountability and oversight when AI Data Centers directly impact our energy, water, and land usage during a worsening climate crisis.” 

“As PG&E customers, Oakland residents already pay some of the highest electric bills in the country. We cannot afford to allow new data centers to come to town and jack up our power bills like they have in communities across the country,” said Emi Yoko-Young, Policy Organizer with Reclaim Our Power Utility Justice Campaign.

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The Stop AI Data Centers in Alameda County coalition includes Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), Food & Water Watch, Fossil Free California, Frontline Catalysts, Local Clean Energy Alliance, Oil & Gas Action Network, Reclaim Our Power, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, Wholly H2O, and 350 Bay Area. For more information, visit @stop.ai.data.centers.alameda on Instagram.