“I plan to resist this idiotic Inyokern Data Center with all my might.” – Ridgecrest City Councilman Skip Gorman

April 26th, 2026

Inyokern California

While this may be a “local” news story about a small desert town and a speculative land development, it will become an anecdotal story about the impending clash of common sense with the “build it and they will come” mentality that has gripped the world with AI.

AI is here whether we like it or not. At some point, the bubble of consequences related to the rapid development of data centers and ultimately, superintelligent AI, might just mean the end of humanity. Whether that happens in 2027 or 2034 is a matter of debate between the “experts”. Of course, we’ll be reporting on the end of the world as it happens and will inform you immediately when it happens.

AI Expert Predicted AI Would End Humanity in 2027—Now He’s Changing His Timeline

We need not worry about the lesser consequences of plopping a water-guzzling, energy-sucking data center in the middle of the 120 degree heat of the high Mojave Desert when everyone is going to die, however, the impact on the Navy’s water and energy security should be enough to render this project DOA. China Lake won’t stand for it, they just won’t say so publicly (shhh, Secret City).

Wall Street is already sounding the alarms that AI is in a massive bubble while big tech-companies continue investing billions and billions of dollars in each other, it’s a big-techie circle-jerk of sorts, and thousands of data centers are being built that provide no tangible benefits to the communities they’re located in.

Chandler Arizona’s city council just rejected, by a vote of 7-0, a proposed 438,000 square foot data center in their town in spite of a hard sell by big-tech and a former U.S. Senator turned lobbyist:

Arizona city rejects data center after AI lobbying push

CHANDLER, Arizona — This Arizona suburb sent a searing warning message to Big Tech companies after city officials on Thursday night unanimously rejected a proposed artificial intelligence data center — capping a fight that attracted powerful interests from Silicon Valley and Washington.

With all of that said, the last thing the Indian Wells Valley or the Sunshine Capital of the World (Inyokern) needs is a data center. Given the issues with the Inyokern Community Services District, the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority (don’t bother) and the end of the world as we know it, nobody in their right mind would think that they could build a data center in Inyokern. Right?

What!? Someone wants to build a data center in Inyokern??

R&L Capital, Inc. of Trona is betting that a data center can be built on 50 acres in Inyokern California. Cushman and Wakefield is assisting R&L Capital with the project development and is acting as the Agent for interested investor-principals.

Robbie E. Barker is listed as the agent for R&L Capital, Inc. on the application docket opened with the California Energy Commission on April 20th, 2026. Barker is the President and CEO of Valleywide Engineering and Construction Inc., a full-service general contractor specializing in serving industrial facilities. 

Your intrepid reporter, me, wanted to find out how much water would be needed for the project and although estimates and rumors vary, it could be anything from gazillions of gallons or a mere 50 acre feet per year. Most of the folks in Inyokern are lucky to have water to flush their toilets given the state of affairs at the Inyokern Community Services District.

The land is located just north of Highway 178 and east of Brown Road, across from the High Desert Home Store True Value. The total project site encompasses approximately 50 acres of industrially zoned land. The single-story data center building will be approximately 238,000 square feet, with a maximum structural height of 30 feet. 

The RB Inyokern Data Center appears to be a “spec” or build-to-suit using the traditional co-location model that became popular in the early 1990’s. The Cushman and Wakefield webpage for the project offers potential investors an opportunity to learn more about the proposed project with the prerequisite of a signed confidentiality agreement. The website for investors can be found here.

More IWV Water Controversy in the Making

A recent article in Forbes highlights the challenges that are faced by real estate developers seeking to capitalize on the rapid deployment of AI data centers.

Whether the unstoppable data center growth will be positive or not depends on data center companies moving ahead on a path that is the most sustainable, energy efficient, water resilient, and community supported. We still have time to limit additional strains on the nation’s electric grid and water supplies. And to take the time to make sure local communities support the construction and operation of these facilities in their neighborhoods.

In the case of the Indian Wells Valley, a data center would most certainly be constrained by limited electrical transmission lines as well as a groundwater basin that’s been designated in critical overdraft by the California Department of Water Resources.

The Indian Wells Valley Water District and the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority are currently involved in mediation while litigating a comprehensive adjudication of the Indian Wells Valley’s groundwater basin. The Inyokern Community Services District is currently subject to a forced consolidation with the Indian Wells Valley Water District. Mr. Barker has just thrown himself into the middle of the battlefield in The Great Indian Wells Valley Water War!

In June of 2025, the Inyokern Community Services District was strongly advised by the State Water Resource Control Board to voluntarily consolidate with the Indian Wells Valley Water District. The deadline for a voluntary consolidation has passed, and no action has been taken by the State Water Board as of this date. Information on this issue can be found on the IWVWD website here.

The Ridgecrest City Council – I don’t think so.

Opposition to the development will include the Ridgecrest City Council if Councilman Skip Gorman is any indication. “I plan to resist this idiotic Inyokern Data Center with all my might” said Gorman, “a data center of this size (99MW) would demand from 1 to 3 million gallons of cooling water per day and stress the nearby electrical power distribution station. Big money is behind this and stopping it must be led by Supervisor Peters in Bakersfield.”

I doubt this project will find any community support or enthusiasm from local politicians. Mr. Barker has many obstacles ahead of him and a data center is simply not feasible or desirable in the Indian Wells Valley due to water and energy constraints.

Source information.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mindylubber/2026/03/30/data-centers-are-growing-fast-how-we-build-and-power-them-matters-more-than-ever

Project Description (via energy.ca.gov)

The RB Inyokern Data Center (RBIDC) would include a total of forty (40) diesel-fired generator sets that would be used exclusively to provide up to 99 megawatts (MW) of backup emergency generation to support on-site, data center operations during utility outages. Each generator would have a generating capacity of 3 MW. Of the 40 generators, approximately 70 percent would be dedicated to replacing the critical IT load of the data center, while the remaining capacity would be used to support general facility loads, building systems, and life-safety services during emergency outages. The RBIDC emergency backup generating facility would not be electrically interconnected to the transmission or distribution grid, and would not participate in demand response, peak shaving, or any grid-support operations.  

The proposed project site is located near the intersection of U.S. Highway 395 and State Route 178 in Inyokern, an unincorporated area of Kern County, California. The data center building, emergency backup generating facility, on-site substation, fuel storage, cooling systems, site circulation, and parking would be located on Kern County APNs 084-010-43, 084-010-44, a portion of 084-010-45, and a portion of 084-010-48. The total project site encompasses approximately 50 acres of industrially zoned land. The single-story data center building will be approximately 238,000 square feet, with a maximum structural height of 30 feet.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/powerplant/backup-generating-system/rb-inyokern-data-center

https://efiling.energy.ca.gov/Lists/DocketLog.aspx?docketnumber=26-SPPE-01

Southern California Edison – 99 MW Confirmed

According to Cushman & Wakefield, 99 MW of energy from SCE has been confirmed, and it’s expected that an extra 99 MW will be delivered to the site by 2030-2031.

Southern California Edison (SCE) has confirmed that there are no system-wide upgrades required and they can support a total of 99 MW by 2029. An additional Method of Service (MOS) is expected to be issued within the next four months, delivering an extra 99 MW to the site by 2030-2031.

SCE will create approximately 0.5 miles of transmission corridor linking the SCE Inyokern Substation to a planned on-site customer substation. Once constructed, the on-site substation will step down the incoming 115 kV transmission feed, delivering usable medium-voltage power to support full data center operations.

California Energy Commission – Small Power Plant Exemption (SPPE)

The California Energy Commission has the exclusive authority to certify all thermal power plants 50 megawatts (MW) and larger and related facilities proposed for construction in California. The Small Power Plant Exemption (SPPE) process allows applicants with facilities between 50 and 100 MW to obtain an exemption from CEC’s jurisdiction and proceed with local permitting rather than requiring CEC certification. CEC can grant an exemption if it finds that the proposed facility would not create a substantial adverse impact on the environment or energy resources. Public Resources Code section 25519(c) designates CEC as the “lead agency”, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for all facilities seeking an SPPE. In granting an SPPE, the CEC is not the final approval necessary for construction and operation of a project. Instead, if the CEC grants an SPPE, the responsible local land use authorities and other agencies, such as the local air management district, will assume jurisdiction over the project under their respective permitting processes, and conduct any other necessary environmental review as “responsible agencies” under CEQA.

The IWV Groundwater Authority’s AVEK Imported Water Project is NOT Fundable (VIDEO of the Ridgecrest City Council Meeting for April 15th, 2026)