RB Inyokern Data Center

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. May 8, 2026

   Proposed
   R&L Capital, Inc. filed a Small Power Plant Exemption (SPPE) application with the California Energy Commission (Docket 26-SPPE-01) for a phased 30-35 MW to 65-70 MW to 99 MW backup-generation buildout. Source: California Energy Commission

Opposition and litigation at this site

Partly. Both documented support and documented opposition to RB Inyokern Data Center in Inyokern, Kern County, California appear in the record, with no clear majority position. Active opposition (Ridgecrest City Councilman Skip Gorman; the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin is in critical overdraft, with water-use estimates ranging from the company's claim of 50 acre-ft/yr or less to opposition estimates of approximately 500 acre-ft/yr) alongside organized labor support - IBEW Local 47 and regional Building & Construction Trades Councils have filed CEC letters of support.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: mixed reception means documented support and documented opposition both exist with no clear majority position on record.

Active opposition (Ridgecrest City Councilman Skip Gorman; the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin is in critical overdraft, with water-use estimates ranging from the company's claim of 50 acre-ft/yr or less to opposition estimates of approximately 500 acre-ft/yr) alongside organized labor support - IBEW Local 47 and regional Building & Construction Trades Councils have filed CEC letters of support. Filed at 99 MW, just under the 100 MW threshold that would trigger a more rigorous CEC Application for Certification instead of the lighter SPPE exemption.

Source: Roadrunner395

Power and water

Primary power via a 115 kV grid interconnection; the 99 MW SPPE docket capacity is diesel backup generation, not the grid draw.

Notes on the record

Unincorporated Kern County site south of West Inyokern Road (Hwy 178) and west of North Brown Road (APNs 084-010-43, -44, -45 portion; broader ~95-acre study area across 19 APNs). The CEC SPPE docket formally governs 40 diesel backup generator sets rated to 99 MW combined backup capacity, described by the CEC as not electrically interconnected to the transmission or distribution grid; primary power is a separate 115 kV interconnection to Southern California Edison. Proposer entities per the primary CEC filing: Intuva Inc. and Valley Wide Engineering & Construction, alongside applicant R&L Capital, Inc. (CEO Robbie Barker). Unconfirmed pending a direct read of the CEC Basis-of-Design filing: press claims of '6 modular data halls' and on-site canopy solar. Jobs figures are inconsistent across sources (30-60 permanent, 1,600 temporary construction, and a softer 530-total-including-indirect claim, all secondary/company-sourced) and are omitted from the structured jobs field for that reason. Investment (~$250M) is a company estimate reported by Tehachapi News, not seen in a primary filing. A Phase I cultural resources survey found no CRHR-eligible or tribal cultural resources (NAHC response negative, 2026-03-16). Distinct from the already-tracked Golden Valley Technology Hub (Beacon/CRC, Elk Hills) - different operator, site, capacity, and power model. Coordinates are an approximate road-intersection geocode near North Brown Road, not a parcel-confirmed point.

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