Residents Raise Concerns Over Water, Energy and Accountability Amid Data Center Proposals
Kern County residents and organizers are raising significant concerns about proposed AI data centers across the county, focusing on their substantial demands for water and electricity. A community forum in Bakersfield discussed the environmental impact, resource strain, and lack of public accountability for projects by developers like Beacon AI Centers, R&L Capital, and NY Green Cloud. Residents are calling for greater transparency and community involvement in the county's review and permitting processes for these developments.
In Kern County, California, proposed artificial intelligence data centers are generating substantial community concern regarding their potential strain on local resources and the environment. Residents and community organizers, including a local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, convened a forum in Bakersfield on September 19 to discuss the impacts of these developments.
Speakers at the forum, titled "Equal vs. Big Tech," emphasized that their concerns were not against AI technology itself, but rather against for-profit AI development that places burdens on working-class communities. Cass, a teacher and labor organizer, highlighted issues such as increased water usage, fossil fuel pollution, noise, electronic waste, and the mining of rare-earth materials. She specifically identified three proposed projects: one in Elk Hills by Beacon AI Centers, another in Inyokern by R&L Capital, and a third near Formosa by NY Green Cloud. Cass noted that the Inyokern project alone could require 12-16 million gallons of water annually and includes plans for 40 diesel generators, while the Elk Hills project is currently undergoing the county’s conditional-use permitting process.
Lalo Juarez, an environmental science teacher, stressed the significant electricity demands of large data centers and questioned the county's capacity to accommodate them without upgrading infrastructure, or at whose cost. Both Cass and Juarez called for more transparency regarding the long-term resource demands of these projects. Jason Cosper, another speaker, refocused the discussion on public accountability for technology and infrastructure, questioning the community's lack of control over how these projects are deployed and their lasting environmental footprint.
The forum concluded with a strong call for greater community involvement in decisions about large infrastructure projects that impact local resources. Residents expressed their commitment to advocating for their community's water and livelihood, emphasizing that the proposed data centers are still subject to county and environmental reviews, and their concerns require careful consideration.