With concerns mounting over water use and public transparency, Tucson residents are traveling to Phoenix for Wednesday’s Arizona Corporation Commission meeting to oppose Beale Infrastructure’s Project Blue data center.

The call to action from the No Desert Data Center Coalition and the Phoenix chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America comes on the heels of the company’s announcement of new renewable-energy commitments and a $15 million investment in Southern Arizona. Organizers are asking attendees to wear red and plan to meet afterward to strategize with allies from across the state.

Beale officials said in a Nov. 6 news release that the company is committed to matching 100% of the center’s energy use with renewable energy, calling it part of Beale’s dedication to sustainable infrastructure development.

“Part of Beale Infrastructure’s mission is to set a new standard for developing sustainable data centers in all of the communities where we are located,” a Beale spokesperson said in a statement to Tucson Spotlight.

Tucson Electric Power will serve the data center through an energy supply agreement, with Beale accelerating the development of new renewable energy, either solar or wind.

While the company plans to invest in renewable sources, the data center will initially rely on Renewable Energy Credits from TEP to get the project running. The credits come from TEP’s solar and storage projects included in its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan.

Beale said the data center will pay for the additional costs and that they will not be passed down to residential customers.

“We're proud to partner with the community to achieve our 100% renewable energy goal, paid for by the data center,” Beale said.

But members of the No Desert Data Center Coalition remain skeptical, saying in a news release that nothing in TEP’s Energy Service Agreement filed in August with the Arizona Corporation Commission guarantees the data center will cover the full cost or use 100% renewable energy.

The ESA "includes requirements designed to protect customers from bill impacts or reliability impacts associated with serving the first phase of Project Blue," TEP spokesman Joseph Barrios told Tucson Spotlight. "According to the agreement, the project would pay ACC-approved rates with no financial incentives or discounts, ensuring that residential customers and other retail customers are not subsidizing the project."

With the ACC expected to vote next on the agreement month, the coalition is urging residents to pack the chambers ahead of the decision.

Community members have been rallying against Project Blue since the summer, turning out to government meetings, town halls and forums to express concerns and urge officials to take action. Residents filled the room at last month’s Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, with dozens more in overflow seating or waiting outside.

“Growing up in Arizona during school they would come in and tell us what to do to preserve the little water we have,” said resident June Williams.

Williams said they’ve seen what happened in Phoenix after data centers moved in.

“We seem to be stuck in a cycle where we sell off our land and environment to companies that have no vested interest in making a positive contribution to our lives or our homes,” Williams said.

In June, supervisors approved the sale of land for Project Blue, but Tucson city leaders later blocked the proposal following public opposition. Afterward, Beale Infrastructure announced plans to move forward in unincorporated Pima County and made changes intended to reduce water and energy use.

Still, months after the vote, residents remain frustrated with what they view as the supervisors’ failure to heed public concerns. Forty-five people spoke during the Oct. 21 call to the audience, most about Project Blue.

The “Tucson community has vast expertise especially when it comes to water,” said coalition member Lee Ziesche, a climate justice organizer who works with communities fighting gas power plants and utility rate hikes.

Ziesche and others are skeptical of Beale and TEP’s claims that a proposed 14% rate hike is unrelated to the data center.

 “We are paying for that through our bills if this rate hike is approved,” Ziesche said. “They are absolutely connected.”

TEP spokesman Barrios said the company's request for a rate review is not influenced by Project Blue.

"Our current rates, which were reduced in both 2024 and 2025 to pass along energy cost savings, are based on costs from 2021," Barrios told Tucson Spotlight. "If our request for a rate review is approved, customer rates will be based on costs from 2024."

Arilynn Hyatt is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at arilynndhyatt@arizona.edu.

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