Two large data centers in Santa Clara, California, are standing empty because they are unable to get power connections, it has been reported.

The facilities, built by Digital Realty and Stack, have supply agreements in place with local grid operator Silicon Valley Power (SVP), but are waiting on upgrades to the energy network. These may not be in place until 2028, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Digital Realty apparently obtained planning permission for the data center in 2019, but has yet to get a grid connection six years later.

Meanwhile, a 48MW Stack data center is also in a similar position, the report said.

DCD has contacted both companies for comment.

Speaking to Bloomberg, SVP spokesperson Janine de la Vega said: “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.”

SVP has previously said it expects data center energy demands in California to double over the next decade. Rival utility firm PG&E is also taking steps to meet this demand via a $73 billion infrastructure upgrade plan announced in September.

Meanwhile, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is said to be pushing power regulator FERC to expedite the process of granting data centers grid connections. Wright is said to be keen to reduce a process than can take up to ten years down to a maximum of 60 days. This will be somewhat pointless if sufficient power isn’t available, as appears to be the case in Silicon Valley.

Digital Realty has 15 active data centers in the Bay Area, mostly in San Jose. Stack, meanwhile, says it has three campuses in Silicon Valley, offering a total of 200MW capacity.