STACK SVY02A data center, Santa Clara, California

STACK Infrastructure's SVY02A data center in Santa Clara, California, was built for 48 megawatts of power on the site of the former Memorex headquarters at Ronald Street and Memorex Drive, but it has been waiting on power from the city's utility, Silicon Valley Power. The four-story, roughly 470,000-square-foot building has its own substation, and one report said the site "isn't expecting power until 2027."

The problem is the electric grid. STACK's building and a nearby Digital Realty data center both have supply agreements with Silicon Valley Power but are waiting on network upgrades. "SVP is undertaking a $450 million system upgrade to meet the needs of these and other customers, and the project is currently on schedule to be completed in 2028," utility spokesperson Janine de la Vega said. The utility said it is sequencing power delivery among customers as new substations and transmission lines come online.

Neighbors have also objected to the building itself; the city has documented complaints about noise, height and appearance from the facility on Memorex Drive, the street where SVY02A stands. Santa Clara has 58 data centers and collects an estimated $29.5 million a year from them, and Silicon Valley Power charges 18.2 cents a kilowatt-hour, 57 percent less than PG&E's 42.2 cents.

What happens next depends mainly on Silicon Valley Power's $450 million upgrade, due to finish in 2028. STACK said it is coordinating with the utility to phase in power to the building as the upgrades progress.