Data Center Census Near me

Golden Valley Technology Hub

Taft, Kern County, CADeveloper: California Resources Corp.

Also known as CRC Elk Hills data center, Taft data center

ProposedTaft Midway Driller reports CRC filed permit applications with Kern County in June 2026; conditional use permit and environmental review pending. No annexation found
  1. Rumored
  2. Proposed
  3. Approved
  4. Under construction
  5. Operating

California Resources Corp. (CRC) and Beacon Data Centers propose the Golden Valley Technology Hub on CRC’s Elk Hills oil field property outside Taft in Kern County. It would run on power from CRC’s existing Elk Hills gas-fired power plant, with the grid as limited backup, and use closed-loop cooling. The project needs a county conditional use permit and environmental review; reported sizes differ widely between outlets (275 MW or 25 MW; 90 or 100 acres). The Bakersfield Californian placed the site near Valley Acres, while 23ABC and the Driller place it in the Taft area.

Permanent jobs (promised)
250
up to

Key facts

Size & schedule

Planned capacity275 MW [1]
275 MW of surplus plant power per The Bakersfield Californian [1]; Taft Midway Driller reports 25 MW [3]; company site gives no figure [4]
Site size90 acres [3]
90-acre parcel per Taft Midway Driller [3]; 23ABC reports about 100 acres [2]; Bakersfield Californian gives no acreage
Floor area400,000 sq ft [2]
about 400,000 sq ft including substation, offices and parking per 23ABC [2]; Taft Midway Driller reports 40,000 sq ft for the data center [3]
Permanent jobs (promised)250 [1]
up to
Construction jobs1,500 [1]
at peak

How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.

Power

Power supplySurplus power from CRC's natural gas-fired Elk Hills Power Plant; grid as limited backup [1]
Backup generators15 diesel generators of 2.5 MW each, plus batteries [1]
as proposed [1]; the article's text was garbled in the page source

Water

Coolingclosed-loop, non-evaporative [1]
closed-loop, non-evaporative; initial fill about 600,000 gallons and top-offs about 6,000 gallons a year per CRC [1]

Local decisions & site

Nearest homes or schoolsAbout a mile and a half from the nearest home [1]; 1.4 miles from the nearest residential neighborhood [3] [1]
Source excerpt
“a mile and a half from the nearest home”

Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.

Water and power

Water

Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.

Power

Planned capacity275 MW [1]
Power supplySurplus power from CRC's natural gas-fired Elk Hills Power Plant; grid as limited backup [1]

Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →

Timeline

  1. CRC files permit applications with Kern County (reported in August; the June 15 Bakersfield Californian report said CRC was planning to apply) [3]

  2. Project publicly reported as Golden Valley Technology Hub [2]

  3. CRC holds informational meetings in Taft [3]

Issues raised

  • Nearest residence is about 1.4–1.5 miles away [1][3]
  • Water availability in the region has been raised as a concern for Kern data center proposals [5]

Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.

Sources

  1. CRC proposes W. Kern data center with dedicated power, closed-loop cooling
    The Bakersfield Californian · Jun 15, 2026 · news
  2. Massive AI data center proposed for Kern County's Elk Hills
    23ABC News (KERO) · Jun 24, 2026 · news
  3. CRC holds informational meetings on proposed data center
    Taft Midway Driller · Aug 27, 2026 · news
  4. Golden Valley
    Golden Valley Technology Hub (CRC / Beacon) · 2026 · company
  5. Data center proposed in Inyokern and now Taft
    KBAK/KBFX Eyewitness News · Jun 17, 2026 · news

Cite this page

Last updated Nov 5, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.

APAData Center Census. (2026). Golden Valley Technology Hub. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/golden-valley-technology-hub-kern-county-ca
MLA“Golden Valley Technology Hub.” Data Center Census, Nov 5, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/golden-valley-technology-hub-kern-county-ca.
Linkhttps://datacentercensus.com/dc/golden-valley-technology-hub-kern-county-ca

Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.