The Solution
How a $10 billion data center lowers your electricity rates
The Imperial Valley Data Center isn't just an economic development project. It's a rate relief mechanism — a massive new revenue source for IID that directly offsets the need to extract money from captive residential ratepayers.
The revenue model
| Revenue Stream | Annual Value | Who Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| IID Net Utility Revenue | Up to $30,000,000 | Directly offsets residential rate increases |
| County Property Tax | $28,750,000 | Schools, fire, police, infrastructure |
| Personal Property Tax | $10,000,000 | Unrestricted municipal revenue |
| One-Time Sales Tax | $72,500,000 | Immediate local government cash infusion |
Why it matters
The $30 million in annual IID revenue comes from a cost-plus wholesale electricity model. The developer pays IID for power at rates that cover all generation, transmission, and distribution costs — plus a profit margin. This is pure revenue that IID can use to reduce the rate burden on residential customers.
Destroying the myths
"It will drain our water."
The IVDC requires only 840 acre-feet of recycled wastewater annually. For context: IID holds 3.1 million acre-feet in senior water rights. A single Imperial Valley farming family used 82,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water in 2022 — nearly 100 times the entire data center. The facility uses zero potable water.
"It will overload the grid and cause blackouts."
The facility deploys 220 Tesla Megapacks (862 MWh) with grid-forming inverters. Under an interruptible service contract, IID can cut the center's power instantly during emergencies. The facility then islands itself, removing 330 MW of demand from the grid. It's a shock absorber, not a drain.
"Ratepayers will pay for grid upgrades."
Under cost causation principles, the developer is strictly responsible for financing all substations, transmission lines, transformers, and localized upgrades. The developer also offered $10 million to upgrade municipal water treatment plants. Existing ratepayers pay nothing.
"Environmental groups are protecting the community."
The data center developer alleges that environmental groups engaged in "greenmail" — filing CEQA lawsuits not to protect the environment, but to extract financial settlements. Comite Civico del Valle demanded $83 million over 30 years to drop opposition to a similar project. The IVDC is built on I-2 heavy industrial land, confirmed by Superior Court on February 27, 2026.
The Salton Sea bonus
The IVDC's closed-loop water system doesn't just avoid using potable water — it actively helps the environment. The facility purchases 6 million gallons of reclaimed water daily, uses only 750,000 gallons for cooling, and returns 5.25 million gallons of newly purified water to the Salton Sea watershed daily. This water helps suppress the toxic dust that plagues valley communities as the sea recedes.
The developer also planned to invest $10 million in municipal wastewater treatment upgrades — until city officials allegedly sabotaged the agreement.
“The data center uses less water than a single farm, generates more revenue than any project in county history, and lowers your electricity rates. The only reason it isn't built is politics.”
$30 million a year. 1,688 union jobs. Lower rates. What are we waiting for?
Elect Carlos Duran to unblock the data center on June 2nd.
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