{"id":378189,"date":"2026-06-28T12:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/378189\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T12:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:01:39","slug":"ca-high-speed-rail-board-talks-data-centers-as-part-of-private-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/378189\/","title":{"rendered":"CA High-Speed Rail board talks data centers as part of private deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some California High-Speed Rail Authority<\/a> officials appear to be reading the room when it comes to data centers \u2014 though they haven\u2019t said they outright oppose using them for the benefit of the train project.<\/p>\n

The rail authority in its latest business plan<\/a> floated allowing data centers to lease the future train\u2019s land and power source since state law<\/a> requires it to run without subsidies when it\u2019s fully operational. The agency is working with private investors<\/a> who could help develop the train\u2019s corridor and it\u2019s looking for others who could help develop a utility-grade power generation system.<\/p>\n

Those partners will also be tasked with helping the agency commercialize those assets and could officially pitch leasing resources for data centers as part of a development deal with the rail authority.<\/p>\n

But rail authority board members on Wednesday cautioned staff about shaping a deal with private investors that overwhelmingly depends on data centers, which are controversial because of their use of massive amounts of water and energy. They also suggested ample public discussions about data centers are necessary before a decision is made on a deal that includes them.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrust me,\u201d said Henry Perea, a board member from Fresno, \u201cit\u2019s going to be a big issue for folks out there in the community. We need to be ready to respond to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to The Fresno Bee, a rail authority spokesperson noted the train system itself will require substantial cable, communications and power infrastructure to operate. The agency could lease access to the infrastructure \u201cwhere excess capacity exists\u201d to generate extra revenue to support train service, the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Authority is not proposing to build or operate data centers,\u201d the statement said. \u201cIt is focused on building and operating a high-speed rail system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A rendering shows a train would look like traveling on high-speed rail tracks. COURTESY OF CA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY Experts warn about data center impacts, backlash growing against them<\/p>\n

Data centers house the computer systems that support modern digital operations. Their proponents tout economic benefits, including tax revenue and jobs<\/a>, while opponents point out they require mass amounts of energy to operate and water for cooling.<\/p>\n

Experts with the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists<\/a> said Tuesday during an online educational event that data centers have also been found to increase local temperatures, noise pollution and energy rates for residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pollution is mostly local, but the profits are not,\u201d said Pablo Ortiz<\/a>, a water scientist and director with the organization\u2019s Office of Science and Innovation.<\/p>\n

Data show that environmental scientists are not the only ones who are concerned. Results from a Gallup survey<\/a> conducted in March show 70% of Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities.<\/p>\n

That opposition has shown in the Central Valley, where residents who support high-speed rail have started criticizing the rail authority\u2019s idea to use data centers for extra revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must not let the language of opportunity overshadow the environmental burden,\u201d Norma Cardona, of Merced, said during public comment at the rail authority\u2019s June 1 board meeting.<\/p>\n

Cardona\u2019s concerns over data centers echoed several other public comments at that meeting.<\/p>\n

\"California California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri stands below the archway of the nearly completed San Joaquin River viaduct section of the rail system near Highway 99 between Fresno County and Madera County on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Cables, tracks and other infrastructure are soon to come, say authorities. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com Deal full of data centers would be \u2018a problem,\u2019 HSRA board member says<\/p>\n

During Wednesday\u2019s meeting, rail authority board member Jason Elliott questioned how much the board will be able to help shape a deal with private investors before they have to make a decision.<\/p>\n

He said he did not want to give staff the go-ahead to work on a project list with investors and then return to the board \u2014 after minimal policy discussions \u2014 with a \u201cthis is what it is, take it or leave it\u201d deal full of data centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to have a problem with that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri said his team would debrief the board on what a proposed deal looks like once it\u2019s been crafted with private partners.<\/p>\n

Perea, the board member from Fresno, said he would like the rail authority to publicly discuss data centers further \u2014 either at a board meeting or during workshops where community members are invited.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily have a problem with data centers,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I think we owe the public a very strong presentation of what a data center is and isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perea told The Fresno Bee on Thursday he thinks recent public comments against data centers may be a result of miscommunication between the rail authority and community members. He reiterated that, currently, data centers are only an idea.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 4:08 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Erik Galicia<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Erik is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, where he helped launch an effort to better meet the news needs of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Before that, he served as editor-in-chief of his community college student newspaper, Riverside City College Viewpoints, where he covered the impacts of the Salton Sea\u2019s decline on its adjacent farm worker communities in the Southern California desert.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some California High-Speed Rail Authority officials appear to be reading the room when it comes to data centers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-378189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}