The area, once branded “Lithium Valley” by state officials eager to tout California as a future hub for electric vehicle battery production, remains largely undeveloped. Legal battles, funding shortfalls and technical hurdles have combined to slow projects that were supposed to be well underway by now.

The southern shore of the Salton Sea sits atop some of the richest lithium deposits in the world, locked within geothermal brine deep underground. Lithium is a key ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles and consumer electronics, and state leaders have long hoped the region could reduce America’s reliance on foreign sources of the mineral. But turning that potential into production has proven far more complicated than anticipated.

The most advanced of the proposed projects, Controlled Thermal Resources’ Hell’s Kitchen development, has run into repeated legal setbacks. Opponents sued, arguing the company failed to adequately study the project’s effects on water supplies and air quality. Last month, a state appeals court agreed, ordering Imperial County to redo portions of its environmental review.

Luis Olmedo, executive director of Comite Civico del Valle, one of the groups behind the lawsuit, said the ruling confirms concerns residents have raised for years.

“Do we have enough water to support these projects over the long term?” Olmedo said in a statement. “What happens to our communities if Colorado River supplies are reduced? And what happens to our air as less water reaches the Salton Sea? The Court of Appeal made clear that those questions deserve credible and well supported answers.”

A spokesperson for Controlled Thermal Resources said the company is weighing its legal options and declined further comment because litigation is ongoing.

Newsom’s office did not respond directly to questions about the delays, instead referring inquiries to the California Energy Commission. A commission spokesperson acknowledged progress has lagged behind expectations.

“Though efforts to develop the resources have been slower than anticipated — largely due to global lithium markets and prices — progress is being made, with developers securing funding to advance projects,” said Niki Woodard, the commission’s communications director.

Imperial County Supervisor Ryan Kelley said the delays reflect how novel and difficult this type of mining really is.

“It’s not an easy thing to work with,” Kelley said. “It’s a hot resource with a lot of solids in it, and that’s why the lithium is there. So we’re still very optimistic and encouraged by the companies that are still proceeding.”

A vision built on promise

In 2023, Newsom traveled to the Salton Sea to declare the region a future global center for lithium extraction and battery manufacturing, one he said would help power the nation’s shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles.

“We’ve been all-in on Lithium Valley, building up a global hub for clean energy and making sure that local communities benefit from this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Newsom said at the time.

The Salton Sea itself is an unusual and volatile landscape — a hypersaline lake surrounded by mud pots, small volcanic domes and underground reservoirs of scalding, mineral-laden water. Geothermal plants already dot the area, converting steam from those aquifers into electricity. According to the California Energy Commission, those same aquifers hold the highest lithium concentration of any geothermal brine on Earth. A federal study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated there is enough lithium in the region to build 375 million electric vehicle batteries — more than all the cars currently on U.S. roads.

Companies hoping to tap that resource say their process, which draws lithium from the brine in a closed-loop system, would be far less damaging than traditional hard-rock mining overseas or the sprawling evaporation ponds used in South America.

State officials embraced the idea early on. In 2021, California formed the Lithium Valley Commission to study the economic and environmental questions surrounding extraction. The following year, Newsom joined then-President Joe Biden to promote the effort and pledged more than $100 million toward research and development.

Legal fights slow momentum

As the state’s enthusiasm grew, so did scrutiny from environmental and community groups. Hell’s Kitchen, which is designed to produce up to 300,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually and generate nearly 50 megawatts of geothermal power, became the focal point of that pushback.

Comite Civico del Valle and Earthworks, a mining watchdog organization, filed suit in 2024, contending that the project’s environmental review failed to adequately examine air quality, water consumption, hazardous waste and effects on tribal cultural sites.

A judge initially sided with Controlled Thermal Resources in January 2025, ruling the company had satisfied state environmental law. Company CEO Rodney Colwell told CalMatters at the time that construction was expected to begin soon, though he acknowledged the litigation had already delayed financing and pushed back the timeline by at least a year.

That victory proved short-lived. In August, an appellate court partially reversed the earlier ruling, finding that the project’s environmental documents failed to demonstrate the Imperial Irrigation District could reliably supply water for the next 50 years, or account for potential reductions in Colorado River allocations. The court also found the review inadequate in addressing how water diversions could worsen air quality by further drying out the Salton Sea lakebed. Imperial County has been ordered to fix those gaps.

Jared Naimark, western senior mining manager for Earthworks, called the decision a significant victory for the community.

“They can’t just say, we’ll figure that out later,” Naimark said. “They need to show their work on where that water is going to come from now, and analyze the impacts of it.”

Tribal and community voices

Although the court found that the company had adequately consulted with tribal representatives, some Native leaders say they still want a stronger voice in decisions affecting sacred sites. Kwaaymii elder Carmen Lucas has called for protections around mud pots and other locations she says hold deep spiritual significance.

“From the beginning I have made it clear that I’m not opposed to development,” Lucas said. “I am asking that it be done in a balanced way.”

She is advocating to have the area known as the Southeast Lake Cahuilla Active Volcanic Cultural District added to the National Historic Register — a designation that wouldn’t necessarily block development but would formally recognize the region’s cultural importance.

“It’s clear to me that Washington is looking at California’s desert as a wasteland,” Lucas said. “There’s a beauty in the desert, and it opens the door for creativity and imagination.”

Imperial County officials say they are still reviewing the appellate court’s decision and determining next steps, according to Bari Bean, the county’s assistant executive officer.

Jobs on hold

While legal and regulatory questions play out, many local residents who trained for anticipated lithium jobs are still waiting. San Diego State University opened an $80 million science and technology facility in Imperial County specifically to prepare workers for the industry. University President Adela de la Torre warned in a recent commentary that without faster progress, graduates could find no jobs waiting for them.

Federal policy shifts have added to the uncertainty. The Trump administration has scaled back clean energy funding commitments, and Congress eliminated federal tax credits for electric vehicles last year — both of which cloud the long-term outlook for lithium demand.

Locally, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors has also stirred controversy with its plan for distributing future lithium tax revenue, which would direct the bulk of funds to the county government while splitting the remainder among cities based on population rather than proximity to lithium facilities.

Looking ahead

Despite the setbacks, Hell’s Kitchen has continued moving forward in other ways. The project last year received an extended federal permitting timeline under the Army Corps of Engineers’ FAST-41 program, designed to speed approval for critical infrastructure. In January, Controlled Thermal Resources also announced plans to supply geothermal power to data centers — a sign the company may be diversifying beyond lithium extraction to also serve the booming artificial intelligence sector. Shortly after, it merged with Plum Acquisition Corp. to become a publicly traded company, a move aimed at accelerating the first phase of construction.

Two other companies are also pursuing lithium projects in the region. Berkshire Hathaway’s CalEnergy, which already runs 10 geothermal plants near the Salton Sea, recently completed a pilot program extracting lithium and converting it into battery-grade compounds. The company plans to open a demonstration facility in Calipatria by the end of the year, running it through 2027 before deciding whether to build a full commercial operation capable of producing 90,000 metric tons of lithium annually — enough for roughly 11 million EV batteries.

EnergySource Minerals has also secured permits for a separate lithium facility, Project ATLiS, though the company has not released a construction timeline. CEO Eric Spomer said the project is progressing and could eventually generate significant tax revenue along with hundreds of construction and operations jobs.

“We are actively engaged with all stakeholders to move this project forward as quickly as possible,” Spomer said.

Meanwhile, Imperial County is working to create a broader planning framework — a Lithium Valley Specific Plan paired with a comprehensive environmental review — intended to streamline future development and avoid the piecemeal legal battles that have slowed projects so far.

“I wish we had something of the commodity being produced today, but if it’s going to be produced in the years to come, that’s a good thing,” Kelley said. “And it will be done in accordance with all of the rules and regulations of the state of California, which are not as easy as other states and other regions of the world.”

Original source: CalMatters

The post Lithium Valley Promises Boom, But Progress Stalls in California’s Imperial County appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC is proposing a nearly 1 million-square-foot “hyperscale” data center campus in Imperial County, a desert region better known for agriculture, geothermal energy and its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border. The facility would be roughly the size of 16 football fields, according to project estimates.

The company has said the data center would create about 100 permanent jobs and generate an estimated $28.7 million in annual tax revenue, a potentially significant sum for one of California’s poorest counties.

But the proposal has drawn sharp scrutiny from residents and elected officials who have raised concerns about land use, environmental review, air quality and whether the rural county is prepared to host such a large technology project.

In April, project developer Sebastian Rucci won an important approval when the Imperial County Board of Supervisors agreed to consolidate several parcels of land needed for the facility. After months of public backlash, however, supervisors reversed course last week by calling for a 45-day moratorium and creating a public commission to review zoning policies tied to the project.

The city of Imperial has also sued, challenging the project’s review under California environmental law. At the same time, local voters are gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would prohibit new data centers across Imperial County, similar to a ban recently adopted in Monterey Park.

State Sen. Steve Padilla, a Democrat from Chula Vista, is pushing legislation that would increase oversight of data centers in California. One of his proposals is aimed specifically at Imperial County and would expand the county air board from five members to 10, adding representation for public health, environmental groups and agriculture.

“They can’t just come in and claim that they … have a right to build the biggest data center in the state without any oversight,” Padilla said during a town hall in El Centro.

Rucci is preparing to fight the county’s moratorium in court. He plans to seek a temporary restraining order, arguing that county officials failed to demonstrate an actual emergency, did not clearly identify potential harms from the project and did not disclose the specific concerns raised by residents.

He has defended the proposal as a relatively low-impact use compared with other types of development.

“People can’t just emotionally say that ‘I dislike data centers,’” Rucci said. “It’s just a building, but with a lot less intensive use than other uses.”

The dispute places Imperial County at the center of a growing statewide debate over data centers, which are expanding as demand rises for cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure. While developers often tout tax revenue and limited long-term staffing needs, critics have questioned the facilities’ energy demands, environmental effects and compatibility with surrounding communities.

For Imperial Valley residents, the question now is not only whether the massive project should be built, but who gets to decide how such facilities fit into the region’s future.

Original source: CalMatters

The post Developer Presses Ahead With Plan for California’s Largest Data Center appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A Jan. 10 trial date was scheduled Friday for a 23- year-old probationer accused of fatally beating a Riverside senior after breaking into her home.

Sixto Jesus Garcia Pena of Palm Springs was arrested in 2021 following a Riverside Police Department investigation into the slaying of 78-year-old Denise Irene Wong.

Pena is charged with first-degree murder, as well as special- circumstance allegations of killing in the commission of a robbery, killing in the commission of a burglary and inflicting torture.

Prosecutors intend to seek capital punishment if the defendant is convicted.

During a status hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Superior Court Judge Matthew Perantoni conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding future proceedings, and both sides agreed to be prepared to move forward with trial at the beginning of next year.

An intervening hearing is set for Oct. 25 to confirm everything is on track.

Pena is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center.

Pena was located in mid-January 2021 at the Imperial County Jail, where he was awaiting adjudication of an unrelated attempted vehicle theft case, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Riverside police detectives served an arrest warrant there, then transferred him to the downtown Riverside jail.

According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, Pena allegedly killed Wong in her single-story house in the 1200 block of East Manfield Street, near Masters Avenue, on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Denise was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, friend and a good and kind person,” police Chief Larry Gonzalez said after Pena’s arrest.

The victim had been a resident of the city for five decades.

Patrol officers were called to her home that evening after her loved ones requested a welfare check because she hadn’t responded to phone calls. She was found dead from injuries inflicted a few hours earlier, Railsback said.

He alleged Pena accessed the residence by breaking a rear window.

“Officers observed some items … out of place and consistent with a burglary,” the police spokesman said, adding that the victim’s car had been stolen.

Detectives confirmed the sedan was involved in a hit-and-run collision in Indio a few hours after the alleged break-in.

Indio police impounded the abandoned vehicle, and homicide investigators went to the impound yard, collecting evidence from the car that helped them identify Pena as the alleged assailant, Railsback said.

Three days later, with the help of the county’s Gang Impact Team, they confirmed Pena had been arrested in Imperial County, and arrangements were made for his transfer.

According to court records, Pena has prior convictions for child abuse, auto theft and receiving stolen property.

The post Trial Date Set For Man Accused Of Murdering Riverside Senior appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.