The City Council of Tucson, Arizona, has unanimously voted to reject the proposed construction of a 290-acre data center complex.
The Arizona Republic reports the land for the proposed Project Blue data center in Pima County, located south of Tucson, was sold to developers in June. Beale Infrastructure, a San Francisco-based development company behind the proposal, planned to bring Amazon Web Services data center to the property.
But the project faced opposition when a grassroots movement pushed back, citing the significant energy and water needed to maintain its operations. Complicating the project’s progress was a report that city officials signed a non-disclosure agreement that prevented information on Project Blue from being shared with the public.
However, this may not be the end of the matter. The project’s leaders identified different sites for the data center, including parcels on federal, state, or unincorporated county land within the Tucson metro area.
“The decision now is not whether Project Blue will exist,” said Councilmember Nikki Lee. “It is whether Tucson wants to be part of how it is done.”
Councilmember Rocque Perez warned that the area needed to cognizant of additional data center projects.
“I now urge Pima County and our counterparts in other municipalities as well as the public … to pay attention closely as to what happens next because data centers aren’t going anywhere, and this battle is just the beginning for Tucson,” said Perez.
An Amazon spokesperson issued a statement insisting that it was not focused solely on the Tucson area, stating, “We do not have any commitments or agreements in place to develop this project and will continue to assess all potential geographic regions to ensure our data center developments provide the best possible product and value for our customers, while bringing positive benefits to the local communities where we operate.”
