We Attended Microsoft's Data Center Groundbreaking in Silicon Valley — Here's What We Saw

Microsoft is planning for a 48 megawatt facility working with HIT, supporting the growing demand for cloud services and digital transformation. The project is expected to generate a significant impact in Silicon Valley. Welcome back to Silicon Valley Front Row. Right now we're right here, I'm here with David, and we're right at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new data center in San Jose, right at the border of San Jose and Milpitas. David, it was kind of an interesting event. Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of people. They really let everyone come here to see the groundbreaking ceremony. So it's in Alviso. Is that like a borderline between San Jose and Milpitas? Yeah, yeah. Milpitas is right across this creek here. Alviso is part of San Jose. Okay. I've always known it as like kind of like a marshland from what I heard. But yeah, the groundbreaking ceremony, they said that this would be, they partnered with Microsoft, the HIT construction center. And this would help with cloud, I guess, computing and supply the energy needs. But also, it's supposed to be really water sustainable, recycling the water, right? Yeah, yeah. Apparently, they use recycling water from the plant right behind this whole area. Yeah. And they're very proud about that. They're very happy. Yeah. They're also using reusable energy, I guess, in many ways. So the mayor was here, the San Jose mayor, Matt Mahan, who just ran for governor and he lost. But, you know, he was in the running. Yeah. And we had two city council members. I think one or two VPs from Microsoft. I saw David Cohen. Yeah. Right? Yeah, yeah. I think he was here. Executives at Microsoft who talked about this. And it was a pretty interesting event. Yeah. Okay. So we have right behind us one of the machines that I assume is going to be drilling into the earth to start the construction. And we have Microsoft and HIT is the main construction people. So we're going to... We have the podium right behind us. That's where the speakers were, including the mayor. And we're going to head over to where the actual groundbreaking ceremony was. I'm going to... You know, maybe we can take turns. I'll go grab the shovel. Sure, if you want to go. Okay, you can do it. Go ahead. That's pretty cool. So one thing they talked about was that this power station is going to be... This power data center is going to be less than 99 watts. And other parts of the country can go up to a thousand watts. I think the reason is that California rules limit or making a lot more difficult to build over 99 watts. Would they say it's 40, 48? Did you hear the number? Yeah, we've got to double check. But I was speaking to the vice, one of the executives with the construction center. He said something about 48 megawatts. Megawatts, okay. Yeah, yeah. But that's still on the lower side. It's considered a smaller one. I see, I see. This flag is pretty impressive. Maybe we can show a little bit of this flag. I think if we get close to it, it's going to show... Let's like kind of walk backwards. Because if we're right next to it, it's going to show how huge it is. Yeah. So it's a pretty impressive flag. Whoa. And it was kind of funny, the mayor. Oh, we just lost it. Oh, it feels nice right here. Yeah, it's funny how the mayor was asking like, can you find a bigger flag than this? Let's see if he's going to get back. Maybe we can grab it. Oh, they're doing a shot. They're trying to take a photo here. Yeah, so people are just taking photos. No worries. People are taking photos with the shovels. It's pretty fun up there. And we have, so far there's like four, I see at least six bulldozers. Here's two of them right here. It seems like they're just about to start construction. This is actually pretty cool. Well, we might have to leave before then. Yeah. But let's take a... Do you know how big the land here or the space is? I don't, but I assume it's this whole area going... Yeah. There is some construction that seems like it already started. Some early stages over there. So I'm guessing those buildings over there is the, I guess the facilities, you know, for the crews to use, take a break. Oh, cool. You guys are from that... I don't even know how to say it right, but... Epoch Times. Okay, I was going to say Epoch. I know you guys and I've never heard of MTD before. Oh, okay. Are you guys like in the Bay Area? Santa Clara. Oh, my name is Ashley. Ashley? Yeah, and that's my email address. Okay, perfect. She's from Virginia, I think. Uh, Jaclyn? Yeah. Oh, so she came like all the way. I think so. Wow. Okay, this is a pretty nice shot here. So just to add some information, it's a 48 megawatts power data center. Yeah. Which again is considered to be on the small side, but I'm sure it's being in the heart of the city is pretty important. Maybe it adds more value than if it's in the middle of a... They said they petitioned for 99, but it seems like only got this specific size 48 for some reason. Okay, so we're gonna wrap up. Steve apparently got the last iced coffee. Sorry. So all that's left was hot drinks and I didn't want to get that on today. So we're hitting 90 degrees today. So sorry, dude. It's all right. I have water. So as far as deadline for the project, it's supposed to be done in about 18 months. 2027. And, you know, looking forward to see how that works because we've heard about the data and the consumption use of, you know, AI cloud storage and data centers. So given this is in the Silicon Valley, which is kind of big on like sustainability and nature, you know, it's interesting to see how this would work, right? You know, one thing that's interesting, David, is that 2027, who knows how much things will change with AI by then. And I think in many ways, these companies, they kind of put a lot on the line to build this, to invest in the future. Because in a year and a half, things may be so different that they may not even need it for whatever reason. They may build in space or who knows. Right. So it's a big investment and a lot of people are doing it. A lot of companies are doing it. But we'll see. We'll see how it works out for them. Yeah. All right. So let us know in the comments, what's your thoughts on data centers being built? You know, making use of the bare land that's kind of unused. Yeah. Let us know in your thoughts. Any questions? That's it. We'll see you next time. Have a good one. Yeah. Take care. See you next time. Silicon Valley. Friend row.