Coachella Valley Technology Campus data center, Coachella, California

Stronghold Power Systems proposed the Coachella Valley Technology Campus, a data center project on more than 240 acres of farmland near Fillmore Street and Avenue 52 in Coachella, Riverside County, California, that grew in city filings to as much as 450 acres and six buildings. On August 25, 2026, the Coachella City Council passed a permanent citywide ban on data centers, ending the project and making Coachella the first city in the valley with such a ban.

Hundreds of people packed the council chamber on May 27, 2026, where Alex Rodriguez, a government affairs adviser for Stronghold, said, "There is a requirement for a large load to be brought in, and the data center fits perfectly with that," arguing California's environmental rules made the project different from data centers elsewhere. Indio resident Elizabeth Humphreys questioned whether firm rules were even in place, noting Gov. Gavin Newsom had vetoed AB 93, a bill that would have required data centers to report their actual water use. "We will not take no for an answer. We will recall city council members if we have to," Coachella resident Stephanie Ambriz told the council.

On June 4 the council passed a 45-day moratorium on new data center development, directed staff to draft a permanent ban, and voted to terminate the utility agreement it had approved in February with Stronghold's affiliate, Coachella Valley Power Services LLC. "We know you're hurt, we know you're angry, we know you're disappointed, and you have every right to be," Councilwoman Denise Delgado said before the vote, while resident Maria Duarte said in Spanish, "We don't want our prices to go up. We don't want our water contaminated." In July the council unanimously extended the moratorium by 10 months and 15 days, though Cherie Cabral of the California Labor Management Trust urged it to weigh each project's economic benefits.

In late August 2026 the council passed Ordinance No. 1231, the permanent ban, which took effect 30 days after the vote.