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Data centers in Kern County, California: 3 projects mapped
Kern County has no large data center running yet, but two are proposed and both are under review. In Inyokern, Trona-based R&L Capital wants to build a 99-megawatt AI data center on about 50 acres near Highways 395 and 178, and needs a conditional use permit from the county. In the Elk Hills oil field, California Resources Corp. has applied for a permit for the 275-megawatt Golden Valley Technology Hub, with Calgary-based Beacon Data Centers as its tenant.
The Inyokern plan is the more contested. The 238,000-square-foot building would have 40 diesel generators able to supply 99 megawatts of backup power, which is why the California Energy Commission is reviewing it; construction could start in April 2027.
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R&L says its cooling would use no more than 50 acre-feet of water a year from the Indian Wells Valley basin; opponents estimate about 500, close to 8 percent of the basin's sustainable yield. The city of Ridgecrest, China Lake Naval base and the Sierra Sands school district have filed objections, and Ridgecrest asked in July for a formal role in the state review. "AI is here to stay... But not in Inyokern, and not in Ridgecrest," one resident told the Ridgecrest City Council.
Golden Valley would sit about 1.5 miles from Valley Acres and run on surplus power from CRC's gas-fired Elk Hills Power Plant. It would be cooled by a closed water loop needing about 6,000 gallons a year in top-offs, and the permit starts a two-year environmental review. Separately, the Air Force has offered more than 2,100 acres at Edwards Air Force Base for lease to private AI data centers; no company has been named.
Data center projects on record in Kern County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Edwards1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwards AFB Data CenterEdwards | Not reported | Proposed | Not reported |
Inyokern1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inyokern Data CenterInyokern | R&L Capital | Proposed | 99 MW |
Tupman1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Valley Technology HubTupman | Beacon Data Centers / California Resources Corp. | Proposed | 275 MW |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.