Data centers in San Joaquin County, California: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, two governments in downtown Stockton stepped back from data centers within hours of each other. In the morning the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to have staff spend about six months studying large-scale AI and high-intensity data centers in the unincorporated county, covering their effects on agriculture, water, electricity, land use, public safety and county finances. It also asked County Counsel Edward J. Kiernan whether a temporary moratorium could be legally justified in the meantime. The county says there are no data centers and no active applications in unincorporated areas. "Because there are no existing facilities or active applications, that gives us an important opportunity to be proactive," said Supervisor Robert Rickman. Board chair Sonny Dhaliwal said: "We need to put our residents first." The county expects the board to consider an initial 45-day moratorium on approving data center projects in October; ABC10 reported the date as an Oct. 1 meeting.

That afternoon the Stockton City Council voted 7-0 to take data centers out of its 2026-28 Economic Development Action Plan. The draft had listed them under "Revenue Enhancements", alongside auto dealerships and big-box retailers, without naming a developer, a site, a size, or estimates of revenue, jobs, power or water, Stocktonia reported. Nearly 40 people signed up to speak. "This is not the data center item," said Economic Development Director Ricardo Noguera, but Councilmember Mario Enriquez, who made the motion, said that putting the word in the plan "is going to activate people." Vice Mayor Jason Lee said there should be no data centers "developed or approved by staff without public discussion." The vote imposes no moratorium; the city plans community listening sessions starting around mid-November before deciding whether to put data centers back into the plan.

Stockton already has one. Nautilus Data Technologies has run a 6.5-megawatt facility at the Port of Stockton since late 2020. It cools with San Joaquin River water in an intake-and-discharge system through which about 6.5 million gallons a day can pass before being returned to the river, and it employs 10 full-time workers. The city itself pays a Nautilus subsidiary $1,450 a month to back up its public safety network. Nautilus will not disclose how much power it uses, and the port refused Stocktonia's records request. In June 2024 the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a notice of violation after required weekly temperature monitoring was missed at one location. Stocktonia reported that this conflicts with the company's statement that it had been "fully compliant with no violations." In January the environmental group Restore the Delta published a white paper warning that AI infrastructure was taking hold in the Delta in Stockton and Tracy and could strain groundwater and endangered fish such as Delta smelt. What happens next: the October moratorium decision, the six-month county study, and Stockton's listening sessions.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.