Coachella Residents Pack Town Hall Over Proposed AI Data Center, Raising Alarms About Water, Power Costs, and Transparency

Residents clashed with city officials and developers Monday night at a town hall over a proposed AI data center campus in Coachella, with some opponents removed from the meeting after disrupting the presentation.

The proposal, led by Stronghold Power Systems, would place six data center buildings across 240 acres on the city's eastern edge near Fillmore Street and 52nd Avenue, totaling roughly 3 million square feet and operating between 270 and 300 megawatts of capacity. Developers have branded it the "Coachella Valley Technology Campus" and say it would generate $21 million in annual revenue and create hundreds of local jobs. Plans suggest the site could eventually expand to 450 acres.

Residents aren't convinced the benefits outweigh the costs. Resident Ash put the concerns plainly: "The amount of water that this project would use would further contaminate our water, and it would lead to less quantity of our water, and we already have a drought. The amount of energy that six data centers would need on 240 acres would create heat, use so much energy that our prices of electricity will skyrocket, and it'll cause so much air pollution." Though Stronghold claims the facility would use about 40% less water than the agricultural operations currently on the site, residents fear any additional strain on an already drying Colorado River. The site also sits about two miles from Valle del Sol Elementary School.

Resident Gabriela Manríquez, who was among those escorted out of the meeting after protesters disrupted the presentation, said the city's willingness to entertain the project at all is telling. "The fact that the city of Coachella is actually considering it is just showing that their intentions are not for the people of the valley," she said.

Coachella Mayor Dr. Frank Figueroa, who attended the meeting, said he is seeking clarity on the "specific language" buried in the development agreements. Terms like "Municipal Utility Center," which would allow for importing energy from outside the area, and the rebranding of the project as a "Technology Campus," have left both residents and officials feeling that the proposal's full scope has been obscured.

Stronghold Government Affairs Advisor Alex Rodriguez emphasized the project's long-term community investment: "The municipal utility, the P3 contract, is a 20-year contract, and once that contract terminates, everything we've invested in, infrastructure upgrades, a new fire station, five acres of land we carved out for that, all becomes part of the city."

The controversy deepened as campaign finance records show Stronghold Power previously donated to the 2022 mayoral campaign of former Mayor Steven Hernandez, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to felony conflict of interest charges.

The project still requires a full environmental impact report before any final approval can move forward. NBC Palm Springs will continue to follow this story.