Ione, CA — A potential data center, the Buena Vista AI Factory, is under development in Amador County on a long-defunct biomass site next to Harrah’s Northern California.
The state has identified biomass-related industries among core economic development sectors across the Sierra foothills region. So, the project potentially checks some boxes for funding and other state support.
However, data centers in general are creating growing concerns about environmental impacts as well as questions about permitting and other processes.
Other than the above-mentioned project in Ione, so far there have not been any proposed data center projects that have appeared before planning commissions in Tuolumne or other nearby counties.
As part of a discussion during its Aug. 11 meeting, the Calaveras County supervisors directed staff to bring back a temporary moratorium on data centers. Among the stated concerns were demands such projects can place on local energy and water resources as well as questions about the actual benefits they might bring such as through the number of new jobs created. The matter was also discussed by the city council in Modesto, where two small data centers are currently operating.
Among the companies that maintain online data center monitoring resources is Cleanview, which tracks the capacity of operating and planned data center facilities. Currently, it provides geographic locations and detailed listings for 53 operating facilities in California alone, along with 32 planned projects by 33 unique developers. Regarding power, the site reports the state’s total capacity at 3,332 megawatts (MW) with 1,006 MW in operation and 2,270 MW planned.
According to Cleanview, most of the data centers in California right now are in the Bay Area near Santa Clara; the largest operating data center in the state, Vantage CA3, developed by Vantage Data Centers, has a capacity of 83 MW. The largest project currently listed as being in development is Terra Data Center, also in Santa Clara. Under development by Terra Ventures, it is projected to have a capacity of 417 MW.
At this point, none of the data centers in the state are described or projected to be biomass-fueled. Enter New York GreenCloud (NYGC) data services, whose name reflects its focus on building “green” Cloud-based AI data centers. In addition to providing what appears to be a more “environmentally friendly” way to expand data centers, waiting or having to compete for public utility grid capacity can tie up projects for years, making them less cost-effective.
Back in January, NYGC announced its acquisition of the Buena Vista Biomass Power (BVBP) facility in Ione along with plans to develop its first large-scale carbon-negative AI factory at the site; integrating biomass-to-pyrolysis energy systems with off-the-grid–aka “behind-the-meter” –liquid-cooled AI computing power.
Initial word
NYGC sent out an initial media release that made waves in industry trade and business publications. We twice reached out to NYGC CEO and co-founder Dr. Joseph Church about it, but have yet to hear back.
We also talked with Amador County District 3 Supervisor Jeff Brown, who back in March was invited to and made a visit to the 4655 Coal Mine Road site. We also queried Michael Masuda, an engineer by trade with a background in data center and AI development technology, for his professional perspective about the project and data center development in general. Masuda, who grew up in Amador County, is also a congressional candidate for the California 5th District seat currently held by Tom McClintock.
In the initial media release by NYGC, CEO Church stated the Buena Vista Biomass Power facility is the beginning of a national platform of carbon-negative AI factories that will allow the company to deliver high-performance computing power with a dramatically lower carbon footprint.
Dave Shaffer, founder of BucSha Energy, NYGC’s engineering partner on the project, emphasized that the focus on local resources was central to the project’s sustainability. “By focusing exclusively on regional biomass, we create a clean, stable and scalable energy source that can power modern AI infrastructure,” he stated.
Sandy Goodman, the managing partner at Impact Capital Partners, which advised NYGC on the capital strategy and financing pathways for the transaction, described the acquisition as “a blueprint for scalable, sustainable compute.”
The project calls for the partners to convert the existing 18MW biomass power plant into a 41MW power platform that will then be used to feed an onsite AI factory with renewable, baseload energy generated by a biomass-to-pyrolysis system. The biomass will be regionally sourced using forestry and agricultural residues.
The system additionally generates a byproduct called biochar, a stable, carbon-rich, charcoal-like substance produced by heating organic waste in a low-oxygen environment. Among the main uses for biochar are soil amendment, carbon sequestration, and water filtration.
NYGC’s first large-scale carbon-negative AI factory is described as primarily developed with high-performance, liquid-cooled AI computational power, hardware, and infrastructure required to build, train, and run artificial intelligence systems with next-generation GPU (graphics-processing unit) clusters to deliver enterprise AI training and inference with instant access to cloud-based servers.
Start-up plans
Supervisor Brown shared with Central Sierra Broadcasting that the biomass facility, which was on reclaimed land formerly housing a lignite mine before it became a biomass facility, would be renovated in the coming months and initially operated to provide a baseline of its capabilities.
He said while the property was zoned appropriately, he had not heard of a permit being pulled or a required environmental impact report (EIR) in progress for further expansion or development. He added that the proposed project’s design was in alignment with federal laws requiring data centers to be self‑sufficient in both power and water.
According to Brown, about $4 million had already been invested to bring the plant back into operation, with another $171 million planned to fully modernize the facility and build an adjacent data center.
Brown, on his official Facebook page, reported making a July 12 visit to the Buena Vista biomass plant property. In his update, he stated, “The facility remains in full refurbishment mode, and they are aiming for a soft operational test of the plant in August. At this time, they still have not applied for a construction permit or completed an Environmental Impact Report for the AI Center.”
In part two of this series later this week, you can get further details about the project and further comments by Brown and Masuda.
