Residents of Jacumba Hot Springs gathered Monday night at the community center for their monthly Jacumba Community Sponsor Group meeting.
But one agenda item dominated the discussion – preliminary plans for a data center north of Interstate 8.
For years, back country residents in communities like Jacumba have fought large energy projects. Most recently, the Jacumba and Boulevard communities battled two solar and battery energy storage projects that the County Board of Supervisors ultimately approved.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to represent ourselves at that table,” said Jeff Osborne, the community group’s current chair. “We’re going to ask for things. We’re gonna ask for representation. We hope to get some response on this specific topic of data centers from the supervisors soon so we can have some indication. Because this is kind of a whole new thing.”
There are few things these days that have inflamed communities more than data centers. The massive buildings powering the AI boom can have huge impacts on local land use, water and power.
“I’m pro business. I was a contractor for 30 years. But something like that out here in the mountains,” said Ray Tiffany, a longtime Jacumba resident. “It’s just not right.”
Osborne first heard about the data center plans after members of the Boulevard Community Planning Group were tipped off by a local landowner.
The Jacumba group confirmed the proposal through County records obtained under the California Public Records Act.
The tentative plans come from the Spain-based renewable energy company, IGNIS. Tahir Fazal, an IGNIS representative, said in an interview with KPBS that the company is in the early phases of deciding whether to do the project.
“We have not done an application, so this project right now is nothing more than a consultation to the county to assess what the permitting path will be, to assess whether there are any limitations that are in place for this project,” Fazal said.
Fazal said if the company does decide to pursue the project, it will do community outreach.
“We're gonna be transparent on this, as we progress, with the community,” Fazal said. “Right now, I cannot give you an accurate answer on when we will take action on the application. As I mentioned, we are evaluating the guidelines that we received.”
The project would ultimately need approval from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, a county spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
