Imperial Data Center, Imperial, California

A judge has ordered a full environmental review of the Imperial Data Center, the 330 megawatt data center that developer Sebastian Rucci's company, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, wants to build near the city of Imperial in Imperial County, California. On September 9, 2026, Imperial County Superior Court Judge Brooks Anderholt overturned the county's April approval of the project's lot merger, ruling the county had illegally skipped review under the California Environmental Quality Act. The ruling does not ban the project, but requires the more detailed study first.

The plan is for a nearly 1 million square foot complex on a 75 acre site, using about 750,000 gallons of water a day and drawing almost double the electricity the whole county used in 2024. The Board of Supervisors approved the lot merger 4 to 1 on April 7, 2026, after residents were removed from the hearing by sheriff's deputies. The city of Imperial and the Sierra Club sued over that vote, and Judge Anderholt agreed the county had abused its discretion.

In June 2026 the Board of Supervisors reversed course and imposed a moratorium on new data centers in the county through mid-2027, and Rucci sued over that too; in August a judge found the county had not shown the "current and immediate threat" an emergency moratorium requires. The company also sued the Imperial Irrigation District in June after it denied a request for Colorado River water. Rucci said he would seek a new trial or appeal, and is also looking at other sites away from homes.