Intel Santa Clara HPC data center (fuel-cell expansion)

Power

Power and the grid

Energized, size not disclosed · contracted, size not disclosed

Sources on record, size not disclosed

Bloom fuel cells (existing) Operating
on site since 2014; size not published Company · May 2024
Silicon Valley Power grid (city utility) City utility
the fuel cells can run alongside utility power; no load figure published Local government · Oct. 2026
Bloom fuel cells (2024 expansion) Agreement signed
agreement for 'additional megawatts'; installation status unconfirmed Company · May 2024

Getting on the grid

The fuel cells can run alongside utility power or as an islanded microgrid; Bloom does not say which mode the new capacity uses. Company · May 2024
Silicon Valley Power, the city utility, stopped accepting new data-center service requests in 2023, the city says. Local government · Oct. 2026
No state utility commission proceeding applies to a customer-sited fuel-cell expansion like this one. Company · Oct. 2026

Permits

Permits checklist

1 checked, nothing on file

Approvals on record for the fuel-cell expansion, and what we could not find.

–
Checked, nothing on file: Air permit for the added fuel cells

Risks

What could slow it down

Medium
Expansion size and status unknown
No source gives the added MW, a completion date or confirmation that the new fuel cells are installed. Company · May 2024
Watch
Tight city grid
The city utility has taken no new data-center service requests since 2023. Local government · Oct. 2026
Watch
Air permit not located
No regional air permit record for the added fuel cells surfaced. see Permits

Timeline

What happened, and what is due

SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming

2014
Power Bloom fuel cells installed at Intel's Santa Clara data center Company · May 2024
2023
Power The city utility stops accepting new data-center service requests (city) Local government · Oct. 2026
May 9, 2024
Power Bloom and Intel announce a deal to add fuel-cell capacity for the next data-center expansion Company · May 2024

Construction activity

Building activity by quarter

Since May 2022: 2 FAA filings (May 2022 to Dec. 2023): tallest crane 410 ft (May 2022).

FAA filings

’23

Dot size: records in the quarter, largest = 1. Two-digit years mark each first quarter.

The buildings

Specs

700+ PB storage, with 800,000+ network ports, across Intel's HPC data centers (Bloom release). Company · May 2024

Largest: fuel-cell powered HPC data center in Silicon Valley once expanded (Bloom claim) Company · May 2024

Who is involved

Owners, partners and builders

Owner

Intel: owner and operator; the computing serves Intel Products and Intel Foundry

Power

Bloom Energy: fuel-cell supplier since 2014
Silicon Valley Power: city-owned utility

Still unknown

Open questions

MW added by the fuel-cell expansion.
Whether the expansion is installed.
Air permit for the new fuel cells.
2 unconfirmed county land records near the site: the buyer or location could not be tied to this campus.

Where this comes from

25 records from 7 documents

Drawn from company statements, local government records, state agency records and news reports, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.

Company 2Local government 2State agency 2News report 1

Evidence

Every quote behind this page

Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.

Power (10)

Size status: no MW on any basis - the May 9, 2024 Bloom-Intel power capacity agreement states no number ('additional megawatts' only) for the added fuel cells or the campus; no fuel-cell nameplate MW (generation basis),
“The agreement calls for the installation of additional megawatts (MW) of Bloom Energy's fuel cell-based Energy Server”
Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
City of Santa Clara BW2 + CUB2 Project Impacts Analysis Report (Draft, Architectural Resources Group, Sept 2025), 3065 Bowers Ave (APN 216-46-015): describes SOFC platforms for a mask-operations/manufacturing expansion w
“This yard would contain solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) platforms that convert natural gas into electricity without combustion.”
Local government · Sept. 2025 · grade B
Project identity: Intel Corporation high-performance computing data center, Santa Clara, CA - existing facility with a Bloom Energy fuel cell installation on site since 2014; a May 2024 Bloom-Intel power capacity agreeme
“The agreement calls for the installation of additional megawatts (MW) of Bloom Energy's fuel cell-based Energy Server at Intel's existing high-performance computing data center in Santa Clara, CA.”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
County code: 06085
“The agreement calls for the installation of additional megawatts (MW) of Bloom Energy's fuel cell-based Energy Server at Intel's existing high-performance computing data center in Santa Clara, CA.”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
Project status: operating with fuel cell expansion agreed
“To meet additional HPC scale needed for Intel Products and Intel Foundry, Intel is leveraging Bloom Energy technology to power the next Data Center expansion.”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
Bloom positions the expanded installation as the single largest fuel cell-powered high-performance computing data center in Silicon Valley
“The resulting installation will be the single largest fuel cell-powered high-performance computing data center in Silicon Valley.”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
Intel states the existing hyperscale Santa Clara data center operates at 1.06 PUE, powering 400,000+ Xeon servers for Intel chip design
“existing hyperscale Intel Santa Clara Data Center operating at 1.06 PUE, enabling the HPC scale needed for complex Intel chip design and technology development”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
Bloom fuel cells at this campus are on-site generation that can run grid-parallel with utility power or as a fully islanded microgrid; the release does not state which mode the added capacity uses
“Bloom's offerings can be deployed as Grid Parallel in conjunction with utility power to meet dual source energy needs of a Data Center or as Grid Independent”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
No source fetched states a numeric size, a completion date or a completion confirmation for the 2024 fuel-cell expansion; installation status remains unconfirmed in this pass
“The agreement calls for the installation of additional megawatts (MW) of Bloom Energy's fuel cell-based Energy Server at Intel's existing high-performance computing data center in Santa Clara, CA.”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
Bloom fuel cells at Intel Santa Clara operate grid-parallel with utility power and can island as a microgrid; the installation is the largest fuel cell powered HPC data center in Silicon Valley per Bloom.
“Bloom's offerings can be deployed as Grid Parallel in conjunction with utility power to meet dual source energy needs of a Data Center”
Company · May 2024 · grade B

Money and contracts (2)

power capacity agreement: capacity
“announced today a power capacity agreement with Intel Corporation that will result in Silicon Valley's largest fuel cell-powered high-performance computing data center.”
Company · May 2024 · grade B
power capacity agreement: on-site generation capacity
“The agreement calls for the installation of additional megawatts (MW) of Bloom Energy's fuel cell-based Energy Server at Intel's existing high-performance computing data center in Santa Clara, CA”
Company · May 2024 · grade B

Permits and government (2)

FAA OE/AAA archive case, Crane "Mission College Intel SC12", 195 ft AGL / 222 f: Determined - No Hazard
“ASN 2023-AWP-20487-OE: Mission College Intel SC12, crane, 195 ft AGL, 222 ft AMSL, 37.38590,-121.96658, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2023-12-07”
FAA · Dec. 2023 · grade A
FAA OE/AAA archive case, Crane "Intel Mission College 2", 410 ft AGL / 436 ft A: Determined - No Hazard
“ASN 2022-AWP-9862-OE: Intel Mission College 2, crane, 410 ft AGL, 436 ft AMSL, 37.38692,-121.96257, Determined - No Hazard, submitted 2022-05-13”
FAA · May 2022 · grade A

Site and other (1)

Intel describes the Santa Clara HPC data center as operating at 1.06 PUE (context for the fuel cell expansion's load profile; no capacity figure disclosed).
“Intel is leading the industry in extreme energy-efficient high-performance computing data centers with existing hyperscale Intel Santa Clara Data Center operating at 1.06 PUE”
News report · May 2024 · grade C