Coachella will host a special City Council meeting Thursday to discuss a proposed urgency ordinance to initiate a moratorium on a proposed data center in the city.
In their May 27 meeting, council members voted to discuss the proposed moratorium at a later date, and approved a third-party legal review of the city’s municipal utility agreement with the center’s developer, Stronghold Power Systems Inc.
Numerous community members protested the proposed project, citing concerns environmental and health concerns.
The project, dubbed the Coachella Valley Technology Campus, would be built on at least 240 acres of agricultural land near Avenue 52 and Fillmore Street, with a minimum of 270 MW capacity to serve at least three data center buildings and related infrastructure.
The center would be designed to operate on self-sufficient microgrids, ensuring that “it does not rely on or impact the existing infrastructure serving Coachella residents,” according to Stronghold’s website. Each facility would be powered by a combination of “highly efficient fuel cells, battery energy storage systems and limited-use backup generation,” the company said.
Thursday’s meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at City Hall, located at 1515 Sixth St.