A large data center and energy project is being proposed on California’s southern border with Mexico.

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC (IVCM) is seeking to develop a 950,000 sq ft (88,257 sqm), 330MW single-story data center, emergency backup generator building (330MW), on-site substation, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS, 862MWh) on 74 acres around 2304 Clark Road.

The BESS would consist of 220 Tesla Megapack 2XL fuel cells, but will not be connected to the grid and will only serve the data center. The site would also include 100 natural gas-powered backup emergency generators connected to Southern California Gas Company’s high-pressure gas line. The area is served by the local utility, Imperial Irrigation District (IID), which has said the project could go live as early as January 2027.

Imperial is a city in Imperial County, California, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of El Centro, and some 15 miles north of the state’s border with Mexico and the city of Mexicali. A dedicated project website has been set up for the development.

Local engineer and attorney Sebastian Rucci is named as the founder and CEO of Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing.

Local press reports that representatives from the DuBose Design Group have said in recent meetings that the tenant is one of the big four US tech giants. Documents on the Imperial project website suggest Google has previously shown interest in the project - and is listed as an anchor tenant in some documents - but it's unclear if the search giant has officially signed on as a tenant.

Local friction in Imperial over data center

The $10 billion, Tier IV-quality project, however, is causing friction between city and county officials. The city of Imperial has been unhappy with the lack of transparency and engagement from Imperial County around the development.

News of a data center surfaced last year when the city posted saying it had “recently become aware” that the county was in the process of finalizing approval for the data center project.

The city of Imperial noted it is not the permitting authority because the property is within the unincorporated County of Imperial limits.

“Because this project is unprecedented in its magnitude and use, the City Council feels it is critical to notify our residents of this project, the city said at the time. “While the City Council supports development, economic progress, and job creation - it is important to empower our residents to provide feedback to the county when such large projects are built in our neighborhoods.”

The city has written to the county planning commission, urging it to recommend denial of IVCM’s request to merge five plots of land along Leimgruber Road for the project, saying local zoning laws do not permit the merging of the properties and roads in this area, and data centers are not a permitted use.

The city has also filed a lawsuit against the county, saying the project is not in compliance with the California Environmental Act.

Imperial County in December posted its own announcement about the project, noting a hearing about the project concerned a lot of the merger only, and not the approval of the data center project itself. The motion to merge failed due to a lack of votes.

The project is reportedly set to rely on reclaimed water, but the nearby city of El Centro recently said it has not entered into agreements with any data center development, nor received any applications from one, about the use of reclaimed water or wastewater for any data center project.

State Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) has also published an open letter requesting that more information be shared about the project.

“Before any data center projects are approved by the County, a complete picture of the water usage and energy demands must be clarified, and area residents must be given a full picture of how the energy and water costs will affect them,” he said.

The Not In My Back Yard Imperial group held a protest against the project over the weekend. A Change.org petition from the group against the development has garnered 2,220 signatures at the time of writing.

More data centers could be coming to the area. CalEthos is planning a large data center campus in Imperial County. In a recent presentation, the IID said it has received “multiple data center inquiries” across its service territory of Coachella and the Imperial Valley, ranging from 30MW to 1GW per site. The IID said its total generating capacity in the area is more than 2.1GW, including 1.1GW of peaking capacity.