RivCo Officials Offering Online Survey On Proposed Data Center

COACHELLA, CA — Coachella residents interested in providing input on a proposed data center and Coachella Municipal Utility were urged Thursday to complete an online survey before the deadline on Monday.

A town hall meeting involving city officials and developers was held at the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella, located at 85350 Bagdad Ave. on Monday, designed to inform local residents of an overview of the municipal utility and evaluation for any potential projects, such as the proposed data center. Instead, community members throughout the Coachella Valley gathered to voice their concerns on the risks of building a data center in the city and scrutinized officials for their apparent lack of transparency.

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The center, dubbed the Coachella Valley Technology Campus, would be built on a roughly 240-acre area, near Avenue 52 and Fillmore Street, with a minimum of 270 MW to serve at least three data center buildings and related infrastructure.

According to Stronghold Power Systems, Inc., the project's developer, the center will be designed to support critical digital infrastructure and will provide long-term economic benefit for the city.

The center will operate on "dedicated, self-sufficient microgrids, ensuring that it does not rely on or impact the existing electrical infrastructure serving Coachella residents," according to Stronghold's website.

Valley residents expressed their concerns for a data center during the town hall, citing possible disruptions to the community and environmental issues that may arise, such as water usage, air quality, massive energy demand, noise and sustainability.

The campus project has not been approved and an environmental impact report has not started.

An online survey must be completed by 6 p.m. May 18.

An English survey can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/78R2GVJ, and a Spanish survey can be found at es.surveymonkey.com/r/78XC3WH.