The city of Coachella will host a town hall next week to listen to feedback from residents and provide them with information regarding the formation of the Coachella Municipal Utility and a proposed data center.
The meeting will take place from 6-8 p.m. on May 11 at the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella, located at 85350 Bagdad Ave.
City officials said they will share an overview on the city-formed Coachella Municipal Utility, a timeline of upcoming actions and a process for evaluating any potential future projects, though no projects have been approved as yet.
In a City Council meeting on Feb. 11, council members approved a Municipal Utility Development agreement establishing a public-private partnership with Stronghold Power Systems Inc. to be called the Coachella Municipal Utility.
The proposed data center, dubbed the Coachella Valley Technology Campus and planned for the corner of Avenue 52 and Filmore Street, would be built on a roughly 240-acre area with a minimum 270 MW capacity to serve at least three data center buildings and related infrastructure.
The project is 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 will be powered by a combination of “high efficiency fuel cells, battery energy storage systems and limited-use backup generation.”
After a video circulated on social media in April criticizing the project, city officials released information online in response to the video, stating that the project has not been approved and that the city is not a “co-applicant.” The city did not further specify its ties with Stronghold.
Residents voiced their concerns during a council meeting on April 22, pointing to potential environmental issues that could arise from the project, including water usage and air quality.