Business & Tech
This SoCal City Is Becoming An Unlikely AI Hub: Report
The city has about 200 residents, but its AI data center uses enough electricity to power 26,400 homes for a year, the LA Times reported.
VERNON, CA — Vernon has about 200 residents, but its 242,000-square-foot AI data center uses enough electricity to power over 26,400 homes for a year, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The center, called LAX01, is five miles south of Los Angeles’ downtown and takes up a single block, the Times reported, noting Vernon has become an unlikely hub for AI infrastructure.
Prime Data Centers built the Vernon center and is among several developers planning hundreds of megawatts of data center capacity for the city, according to the Times.
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Vernon’s publicly owned utility brings electricity, water, gas and internet to customers, allowing the city to offer lower excess power capacity rates, and its small population minimizes complaints about possible environmental impacts from data centers, the Times reported.
While the city says no new power or water purchases are necessary for the added electrical and water demands, some analysts say higher electricity rates are inevitable, according to the Times.
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