Coachella weighs a data center moratorium after backlash over a 400-acre campus

NBC Palm Springs: The Coachella City Council floated a moratorium on data centers Wednesday night after hundreds of residents packed chambers to fight a proposed AI campus — six data centers across more than 400 acres near Avenue 52 and Fillmore. The council is planning a special meeting, could vote on the moratorium as soon as next week, and is weighing whether to terminate the Municipal Utility Development Agreement it signed with Stronghold Power Systems in February. It's also bringing in outside counsel to review that contract.

If built, the campus would rank among the largest data center developments in California. Residents raised concerns about water use, air quality, and energy demand, and some argued the city was leaning on the project to patch its own finances. Stronghold says the development would bring jobs, infrastructure, and affordable housing, and that it isn't asking to skip environmental review — none has started, and no approval has been granted.