Developer Presses Ahead With Plan for California’s Largest Data Center

A developer's plan to construct what could be California’s largest data center in the Imperial Valley is encountering substantial opposition from local residents, officials, and state legislators. Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC is proposing a nearly 1 million-square-foot hyperscale data center campus in Imperial County, a region known for agriculture and geothermal energy. The company claims the facility would create 100 permanent jobs and generate an estimated $28.7 million in annual tax revenue for one of California's poorest counties.

Despite an initial approval for land consolidation by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors in April, public backlash prompted the supervisors to reverse course. Last week, they enacted a 45-day moratorium on data center projects and established a public commission to review related zoning policies. Simultaneously, the City of Imperial has filed a lawsuit challenging the project's environmental review under state law, and local voters are gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would ban new data centers across Imperial County.

State Sen. Steve Padilla, a Democrat from Chula Vista, is advocating for legislation to increase oversight of data centers statewide, with one proposal specifically targeting Imperial County by expanding its air board. Developer Sebastian Rucci, representing Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC, remains committed to the project and plans to challenge the county's moratorium in court, arguing a lack of demonstrated emergency or specific harms. Rucci defends the proposal as a low-impact development, asserting that emotional opposition should not override objective assessments.

The dispute highlights a broader statewide debate over data center expansion, balancing economic benefits against concerns about land use, environmental impacts, and energy demands.