CRC pitches West Kern data center with dedicated power, closed-loop cooling
California Resources Corp. says a proposed West Kern data center would run on a dedicated power source and use closed-loop cooling to limit water use, with county review still ahead.
CRC pitches West Kern data center with dedicated power, closed-loop cooling
Key Takeaways
- California Resources Corp. proposed a data center in western Kern County.
- The plan includes a dedicated power source and closed-loop cooling to limit water use.
- Kern County must review permits; the company didn’t share a build timeline or capacity.
- CRC operates nearby Elk Hills power assets and recently began CO2 injection at Carbon TerraVault I.
- The proposal lands as East Kern weighs the separate RB Inyokern data center project.
It hit 102 degrees in Bakersfield by midafternoon Monday. That’s when California Resources Corp. floated a new idea for West Kern: a data center that would plug into its own power and rely on closed-loop cooling, according to details provided to The Bakersfield Californian.
Why it matters for readers here is simple. Data centers are looking for power in the San Joaquin Valley, and CRC controls power and industrial land in western Kern. If this moves, it lands in Kern County’s queue alongside other digital projects and the oil-to-carbon work already underway.
What CRC says it will build
CRC described a facility in western Kern that would not depend on the local distribution grid for day-to-day operations, using a dedicated power source instead. The company also promoted a closed-loop cooling design, which recirculates water within sealed systems rather than evaporating large volumes during hot spells. No square footage, megawatt figure, or cost was disclosed.
The oil and gas company has leaned into energy-adjacent ventures on the Westside. CRC runs power assets at Elk Hills about 20 miles west of Bakersfield and last month reported first CO2 injection at its Carbon TerraVault I project. That context helps explain why the company is pitching compute next to existing infrastructure.
Power and water
Dedicated power is the headline here, and for good reason. Utilities across California have warned that AI-heavy data centers can strain local capacity if they connect like a big factory. CRC says this concept would ride on its own supply instead of crowding retail customers. The company didn’t say what fuel or interconnect setup it would use, or whether any part of the dedicated supply would be behind the meter.
Closed-loop cooling is the other flashpoint. In plain terms, the system is filled once and then recirculates, which cuts ongoing water draw compared with evaporative cooling towers. It doesn’t make water concerns disappear, but it changes the math. Kern residents have seen enough conflicting claims on this topic to ask for numbers.
County steps and open questions
Any build in unincorporated Kern needs county permits and environmental review. Planning staff will look at power plans, water sourcing, noise, and traffic, and the board will have to weigh it all in public. That’s the process whether it is sited near Taft, Buttonwillow, or another Westside location. Still no price tag.
This isn’t the only data center idea in the region. The RB Inyokern project in East Kern remains under state review with its own power and cooling plan. The two proposals aren’t linked, but they land in the same year, and they raise the same questions about how much power and water the Valley can spare for compute.
CRC’s spokesperson didn’t release a site map, a target megawatt load, or a construction date in the materials described to the paper. Those details will decide whether this is a campus for AI-scale racks or something smaller. For now, the company has planted a flag, and the county will ask for the rest.
Out on Taft Highway the pumpjacks still nod through the heat, patient as ever.
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