Project Blue future uncertain following Tucson rejection | Local News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – The City of Tucson rejected the proposed Project Blue data center during a study session Wednesday. The decision has sparked questions about the project’s potential elsewhere in Southern Arizona.

Pima County initially approved the proposal, but county supervisors remain divided on whether they would support the project in other parts of the county.

District 3 Supervisor Jennifer Allen was one of the two supervisors who voted against the project in June. Allen told News 4 Tucson Project Blue “would be hard pressed” to find enough water in the county without Tucson.

“Data centers just simply don’t make sense here in the arid desert,” Allen said. “The amount of water they consume, the energy they demand, exceed our capacity.”

Supervisor Steve Christy expressed disappointment over Tucson’s decision and suggested that the project might look for opportunities outside of Pima County.

“At this point if I were the principals of Project Blue I’d say forget Tucson, forget Pima County, we’ll go look at some other state, somewhere else or some other part of the state of Arizona, preferably as far as Pima County as we can get,” Christy said.

Developer Beale Infrastructure released a statement following Wednesday’s decision:

“Beale Infrastructure was founded on the belief that data centers can and should be designed sustainably working in close partnership with communities. Beale’s mission is to push the industry forward and enable a responsible digital infrastructure future.

Beale was invited by the City of Tucson to participate in this public process to provide transparency on conceptual plans for Project Blue, which was executed through multiple public information sharing sessions. We are disappointed in the mayor and city council’s decision not to pursue this opportunity for Tucson, despite close collaboration with municipal engineering teams on plans directly compatible with Tucson’s Climate Action and Adaption and One Water plans. It is a missed opportunity for the City to gain tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure to serve the community, and thousands of high-paying local and union jobs.

Data centers are the backbone of the modern economy and are required to serve municipalities throughout the U.S. We would like to thank our supporters in the community. We look forward to sharing our future plans.”

Beale Infrastructure had committed to making the data center water positive after an initial two-year period, using reclaimed water for cooling and operations.

District 2 Supervisor Matt Heinz, who voted in favor of the project in June, acknowledged the potential need for such a project in the area.

“I see a need for this eventually in some capacity to come to this area, so I don’t think we’ve heard the last,” Heinz said. “So maybe it won’t be in the City of Tucson, maybe it’ll be in unincorporated Pima County or maybe it’ll be on tribal land or federal land.”

Heinz remains open to proposals from the Project Blue team or others for Pima County.

Board Chair Rex Scott also supported the project in June, but his office did not respond to News 4 Tucson’s request for an interview.

District 5 Supervisor Andrés Cano, who opposed the original proposal along with Allen, shared his support for Tucson City Council’s decision.

“As County Supervisor, I voted no on Project Blue because too many critical questions remain unanswered- on energy, climate impact, and community benefit. I’ve asked the County Administrator to halt all data center proposals until we adopt clear, enforceable standards, “ Cano wrote. “I applaud the Tucson City Council for joining me in putting our community values first. Southern Arizona deserves climate-smart, community-led economic development-not closed door deals.”

Supervisor Allen mentioned that Pima County is considering policy changes for future data center proposals, including alterations to non-disclosure agreements and requiring environmental impact reviews.

The Town of Marana, which is mostly within Pima County, has not received any data center applications yet, Development Services Director Jason Angell wrote via email. If any applications do come in, their approval would depend on elected officials.