California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is to develop three data centers in San Jose totaling 200MW.

The company has also deployed an on-premise Nvidia solution at a nuclear power station in California.

PG&E and Westbank partner for San Jose data centers

Downtown San Jose Artist Rendering
– PG&E | Westbank

PG&E and real estate developer Westbank this week announced plans to develop three new data centers and upwards of 4,000 residential units in downtown San Jose.

PG&E said it will provide 200MW of energy to the three data centers. Further details on specifications, precise location, or timelines were not shared.

A district energy system will connect the data centers and surrounding community, which will allow excess heat from the data centers to provide heating and hot water to neighboring buildings.

The companies said the project will “transform downtown San Jose by responding to demand for both artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data centers and housing.”

“This initiative is about addressing the need for housing and AI infrastructure while at the same time creating more inspiring communities that respond meaningfully to climate change. In PG&E we have found a partner who shares our vision and commitment. We're looking forward to realizing this initiative together," said Westbank CEO Ian Gillespie.

PG&E Corporation CEO, Patti Poppe, added: "Our proposed net zero community with Westbank and the city of San Jose represents the future for our hometowns. It's also an example of how strong partnerships help us enable California's prosperity. California is leading the energy transition for our nation and the people of PG&E are proud to power that growth.”

A subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, PG&E is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California.

"San Jose is no stranger to innovation that changes the world," said Mayor Matt Mahan. "We are a laboratory for the future — and in our city, that future is net zero. This project proposed by Westbank and PG&E has the potential to change the way that our cities are built, developed, and powered for the better, and we're going to do everything we can at City Hall to support its success."

Westbank is a real estate developer focused on the cities of Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle, Tokyo, and San Jose. Its portfolio includes residential, hotels, retail, creative workspace, district energy, affordable housing, exhibitions, and public art. The residential development, which Westbank is developing with Peterson and OPTrust, is known as the Energy Hub.

PG&E deploys Nvidia hardware at Diablo Canyon nuclear plant

This week also saw PG&E announce it is deploying on-premise AI hardware at its Diablo Canyon Power Plant.

The company has rolled out Atomic Canyon's artificial intelligence-powered generative AI solution, based on Nvidia’s Hopper GPUs, at the nuclear plant.

Marc Spieler, senior MD of the global energy industry at Nvidia, said: "AI is unlocking new possibilities in highly regulated industries like nuclear energy. PG&E's deployment of the Atomic Canyon solution, built with Nvidia technologies, showcases how AI can contribute to increased operational efficiency by enabling utilities to focus on delivering critical services safely and effectively."

The Neutron Enterprise solution is powered by Atomic Canyon's FERMI family of AI models, developed in collaboration with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and specifically designed for the nuclear energy sector. The solution is being used for document search and retrieval, and aims to deliver “significant cost savings and improved operational efficiency.”

Maureen Zawalick, VP of business and technical services at Diablo Canyon Power Plant, said: "As the first nuclear power plant to implement Neutron Enterprise using the Nvidia platform, we're proud to lead the way in bringing cutting-edge innovation to our operations. Atomic Canyon's AI solutions will enable faster data retrieval, boosting collaboration and ensuring continued safe, but more efficient operations. Accessing critical information in seconds will let us focus on what truly matters—delivering reliable clean energy safely and affordably."

Located in San Luis Obispo County, the power plant launched in 1985. Totaling two Westinghouse units, the site offers around 2.25GW of capacity. California's only remaining nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon provides nearly nine percent of the state's electricity and 17 percent of its zero-carbon energy.

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