RB Inyokern Data Center

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. 

The forty generators would be arranged in two secured generator yards of twenty (20) units each, positioned on opposite sides of the main data center building to ensure load distribution and operational redundancy. All generators would be equipped with Tier 4 Final emissions controls, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR), diesel oxidation catalyst, and diesel particulate filters (DPF). The facility would include a new customer-dedicated 115/34.5 kilovolt (kV) substation served by two independent 115 kV feeders from Southern California Edison (SCE) and supported by two 60/80/100 MVA transformers configured for redundancy, connecting to SCE's existing infrastructure via underground gen-tie facilities at SCE's Inyokern Substation. On-site fuel storage would be sized to sustain 72 hours of continuous operation at full design load, consistent with Tier III data center reliability criteria.