A data center in the making or a power plant standing alone?
Amador County residents petitioned the Board of Supervisors to impose a moratorium on New York Green Cloud’s proposed 16-megawatt data center at the Buena Vista biomass plant. The project has not yet been submitted for permitting, and officials took no vote, while residents raised concerns about water use, wildfire safety and infrastructure impacts.
Dozens of Amador County residents urged the Board of Supervisors to pause development of a proposed data center at the Buena Vista biomass plant in Jackson Valley. Speakers cited unresolved questions about water consumption, wildfire evacuation and fire safety, infrastructure costs and whether existing county permitting rules are adequate for data center development. The request was made during general public comment because the project was not on the meeting agenda, so the board took no action.
New York Green Cloud founder and CEO Dr. Joe Church said the company is considering a 16-megawatt facility powered by the existing biomass plant, but has not filed a permit application and may ultimately decide not to pursue the data center. Church opposed a moratorium, arguing that normal permitting should address the project, while residents including Jackie Vaughn supported a temporary pause to give the county time to develop appropriate rules. The proposal remains exploratory, with the biomass power operation moving ahead separately and no formal project timeline established.