Democratic state Sen. Steve Padilla is calling for public review of a massive data center designed to power generative artificial intelligence technology that has been proposed in the heart of the Imperial Valley. … In a letter to the Imperial County Board of Supervisors this week, Padilla, whose district includes Imperial County and South San Diego County, said the public deserved “a complete picture of the water usage and energy demands” of the nearly 1million square foot data center project. … The data center would require 750,000 gallons of water per day for facility operations. … The concerns over the Imperial Valley data center come amid a growing fight over the growth of data centers and how lawmakers should regulate them — in California and elsewhere.

Related articles:

• The Desert Review (Brawley, Calif.): Opinion: Senator questions exemption for proposed Imperial County data center
• The Desert Review (Brawley, Calif.): Opinion: Data center responds to Senator Padilla’s questions