An aerial view shows cooling vent fans on the roof next to generators on the lower level of a Digital Realty data center in Ashburn, Va., on Nov. 12, 2025.

Residents in Imperial County who have been fighting against more than $15 billion in proposed data centers — including one that would be the largest in California — scored a big win this week.

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors issued a moratorium on all new data centers Tuesday that will last for at least 45 days as the county reevaluates the process of data center development in the area. This pauses all new and pending data center permits, though applicants can still submit new applications; those wouldn’t be approved or denied until the moratorium is over. 

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The supervisors also approved the creation of a 19-person committee to analyze land use and zoning laws surrounding data center development. The committee will be required to evaluate current regulations and produce recommendations by January 2027, such as how close data centers can be to residential areas and schools. The moratorium could be extended to 10 months and 15 days if the committee has not delivered any recommendations within the initial 45 days.

These decisions are an about-face for the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, which in April advanced a proposal 4-1 for a $10 billion, nearly 1 million-square-foot data center at the center of the controversy. Board members had hoped the new development would spur jobs and economic growth in the county, with one estimate promising over 1,600 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs, in addition to around $28 million in annual tax revenue. But massive........

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