The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon Web Services is building a $2 billion data center in Gilroy with no public hearings and no mention in the San Jose Mercury News until the construction cranes had gone up. The Merc’s first story in June was published after the community had discovered on its own that they were getting a 438,500-square-foot data center. Because AI and massive data center resource strains were not yet dominant local talking points in 2020–2024, the administrative filing slipped through without drawing flags from residents or local watchdogs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Power and water useWhen completed, the data center will draw 98 megawatts of electricity, enough power 58,800 to 81,760 homes. Amazon says it’s spending money to beef up the electrical grid and the data center shouldn’t raise people’s electric bills.