American Data Power launched to develop CTR’s 600-MW geothermal power project pipeline

Concept image of geothermal power complex development at the Hell's Kitchen site in Imperial County, California (source: American Data Power)

Carlo Cariaga 29 Jan 2026

Controlled Thermal Resources Holdings Inc. (“CTR”), a U.S. geothermal resource developer, has announced the launch of American Data Power, a dedicated company for the development and operation of the power generation component of CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen Geothermal Project in Imperial County, California. The announcement was made during the Baker Hughes Annual Meeting in Florence, Italy.

The announcement follows the company’s long-term collaboration with Baker Hughes, which includes over eight years of technical validation, subsurface analysis, engineering, drilling programs, and execution planning. The companies recently completed a Field Development Plan, confirming the technical and commercial viability to produce up to 600 MW of net baseload power from the Hell’s Kitchen site.

American Data Power’s proposed energy complex is designed to accommodate powered-site development precincts and is expected to deliver high operational reliability, targeting a power capacity factor exceeding 95 percent. This performance profile is intended to meet the continuous, high-load electricity demands of hyperscale data centers while significantly reducing carbon emissions across operations.

“Access to reliable baseload power has become a critical bottleneck for AI and hyperscale data infrastructure growth in the U.S.,” said Rod Colwell, CEO of Controlled Thermal Resources.

“The Salton Sea geothermal field currently produces around 450 MW of baseload power and has an estimated 2.5 gigawatts of untapped capacity – that’s enough around-the-clock electricity to power an entire city. It’s an immense and underutilized clean energy resource that can offer immediate utility-scale solutions to these pressing challenges.”

The company’s 4,000-acre project, which has strong bipartisan state and federal support, is located within the County of Imperial’s Lithium Valley Specific Plan, a comprehensive master-planned project that identifies data centers and supporting digital infrastructure as permitted land uses within designated industrial zones. This programmatic framework provides clear permitting pathways that materially reduce entitlement risk and support project planning and financing.

American Data Power’s program is supported by CTR’s initial 50-MW power plant and critical minerals project, which is nearing construction-readiness under the company’s subsidiary, American Critical Resources.

“The strategic value of Hell’s Kitchen and the greater Salton Sea geothermal resource cannot be overestimated,” Colwell added. “It is a proven resource with a 40-year operating history that can be scaled rapidly to service near-term energy demand while helping to alleviate longer-term energy supply instability as alternative technologies and battery energy storage systems mature and scale to commercial capacity.”

Source: Email correspondence