Startup Execs Address Data Center Community Concerns

Two startup executives presented at a SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research) panel titled "Aligning AI Data Centers with Sustainable Solutions for Grid Efficiency," held June 24, 2026, per CCPulse/Bay City News. Panelists were Chris Lander, vice president of XFRA at SPAN, and Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO and co-founder of EPIC Cleantec. The event was held at the SPUR Urban Center at 654 Mission Street in San Francisco, per the SPUR event page.

The article cites research showing large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day and projects that data center electricity demand could reach 130 gigawatts by 2030, approximately 12% of total U.S. annual electricity demand. The article also reports that more than 300 residents recently protested a planned data center on the former Delta View Golf Course site. Developer-listed specifications for that project include 347,740 square feet, 96 megawatts of power capacity, recycled water cooling, and 37 diesel-fueled elements, per the article.

Panelists discussed distributed, low-water cooling designs and recycled-water systems as approaches that reduce visible local resource impact. Transparent, quantified disclosures and proactive community engagement were cited as factors that influence permitting outcomes, per the reporting. EPIC Cleantec focuses on water recycling for buildings and campuses; SPAN develops energy management hardware.

Community opposition to data center siting is an increasingly common constraint in AI infrastructure expansion, particularly in regions with scarce water or strained electrical grids. For practitioners involved in site selection and permitting, the metrics cited in community opposition - gallons per day, megawatts, local grid impact - are becoming standard inputs in approvals processes.