BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Dirt tracks carved in the soul of the Mojave Desert marked as Siding 16, the rail line that residents say helped build Inyokern, and perpendicular to it a proposed project that residents say they fear will destroy the 100-year-old community.
In Inyokern, a community whose tagline is “100 miles from everywhere, " residents say the community is at a crossroads, where a data center proposed in the middle of it could have detrimental impacts.
"I use AI every day. I love AI. I get that we need to have data centers. So I'm certainly not standing here, opposed to any data centers anywhere, but putting them in basins that are in critical overdraft. That makes no sense under any mathematical calculation, because we just don't have the water for anything," said Ridgecrest resident Jennifer Slayton.
Residents in the Indian Wells Valley say a proposed data center inside the small community could have detrimental impacts on the air, water, and residents due to the close proximity of the data center and its generators to homes and schools, its impact on an already-strapped water system, and its limited ability to create jobs in the area.
"Something this big could lead to the destruction not just of this community here that we all care about, most of us drive through very frequently, but honestly, of our entire valley. The Indian Wells Valley is connected. We have one groundwater basin that we all share. So where Inyokern goes, the rest of us go," said Slayton.
“We are a small population. We do not have the water, we don't have the resources, and we definitely have an aging infrastructure for the businesses and homes here, and so we can't accommodate, or I don't know how we could accommodate this,” said Inyokern Resident Laurana Daniels.
The company behind the project is R & L Capital, based in Trona. They’ve launched a dedicated website to address community concerns — pushing back on many of the residents’ claims. The site says the center will run primarily on grid power, with generators only activated during power outages or routine testing. It also states the facility will use less water than other industries in the region, generate up to 1,600 construction jobs, and leave behind 30 to 60 permanent positions once operational.
Currently, the proposed project has several hurdles to jump through before 'shovels can hit the dirt.' Currently, it’s undergoing regulatory review with the California Energy Commission to determine if the project will be subject to a full environmental review.
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