Beale Pushes 600-MW Tucson Data Center Despite 31 Million-Gallon Water Permit Backlash
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Oct 29
Beale Pushes 600-MW Tucson Data Center Despite 31 Million-Gallon Water Permit Backlash
1 articles · Updated · The Verge · Oct 29
Summary
Beale Infrastructure is continuing construction of its 600-megawatt Project Blue campus near Tucson even after the City Council unanimously blocked annexation that opponents thought would kill the deal.
31 million gallons of groundwater a year were approved for two on-site wells to support construction, while Beale says the operating facility will use closed-loop air cooling and only limited domestic water.
Opposition has swelled from packed public meetings to lawsuits, protests and permit challenges, with activists citing Arizona’s shrinking Colorado River supply, heat-island effects and fears of higher power bills.
Pima County sold the 290-acre site to Beale for about $20 million after touting 3,000 construction jobs, 200 permanent jobs and $152 million in decade-long tax revenue, but Tucson later imposed strict new rules and the county adopted a 120-day moratorium on new data centers.
The fight reflects a broader Arizona split: leaders embraced TSMC’s water-intensive chip expansion for its jobs and supplier ecosystem, while newer hyperscale data centers face bipartisan backlash over whether scarce desert water should support AI infrastructure.