## Tucson City Council Unanimously Rejects Project Blue Data Center Amidst Community Outcry **News Title/Type:** Technology / Local Government Decision **Report Provider/Author:** AZ Luminaria / Yana Kunichoff **Date/Time Period Covered:** The news reports on events culminating on Wednesday, August 6th, 2025, with a community meeting held on Monday, August 4th, 2025. Future ordinances could be considered as early as August 19th, 2025. **Key Findings and Conclusions:** The Tucson City Council has unanimously voted to reject **Project Blue**, a massive data center development tied to tech giant Amazon, from being annexed into city limits. This decision effectively halts one of the largest development projects ever considered by the city. The rejection stems from weeks of escalating public outrage over a perceived lack of transparency and significant concerns about the project's environmental impact, particularly its high water consumption. **Critical Information and Interpretations:** * **Unanimous Rejection:** The council's vote was unanimous, indicating a strong consensus against proceeding with Project Blue in its current form. * **Water Devouring Project:** A primary concern highlighted is the data center's significant water demand, which is seen as unsustainable for the region. * **Lack of Transparency:** Public outrage was fueled by a perceived lack of transparency surrounding the project's development. * **End of Negotiations:** The council voted to end negotiations and remove the annexation and development agreement from the upcoming council meeting agenda. * **Community Opposition:** The decision was met with cheers from opponents, such as the "No Desert Data Center" group, who have been actively advocating against the project. * **Developer's Statement:** Beale Infrastructure, the project developer, expressed disappointment, stating they worked to make the proposal compatible with the city's climate goals and called it a "missed opportunity for the City." * **Project Not Over for the Region:** While rejected by Tucson city limits, Beale Infrastructure has a purchase and sale agreement for 290 acres of unincorporated land in Pima County, meaning the project could still proceed outside the city. The developer was seeking annexation to access city water supplies. * **Future Ordinances:** The city council plans to create local ordinances to hold large water users accountable and update zoning requirements to address the impacts of future data centers. These could be considered as early as August 19th, 2025. * **Concerns about Process:** Council members also raised concerns about the process itself, including the use of non-disclosure agreements, mirroring discussions at the county level. * **Public Power Debate:** The Project Blue debate has reignited discussions about a public power option for Tucson. Council member Paul Cunningham's stance shifted from uncertain to supportive of public power due to concerns about how the data center's energy demand would be met and the potential cost burden on residential consumers. The public power campaign, run by the Democratic Socialists of America, has been advocating for Tucson to break its contract with Tucson Electric Power (TEP). **Key Statistics and Metrics:** * **290 acres:** The size of the land in Pima County that Beale Infrastructure has a purchase and sale agreement for, outside of Tucson city limits. * **14% rate hike:** The percentage increase TEP (Tucson Electric Power) had asked for earlier in the year, highlighting concerns about energy costs for residents. **Notable Risks or Concerns:** * **Water Scarcity:** The "water-devouring" nature of data centers poses a significant risk to Tucson's water resources. * **Energy Demand and Cost:** The substantial energy demand of data centers raises questions about the capacity of existing infrastructure and the potential for increased costs for residential consumers. * **Future Development:** The possibility of Project Blue proceeding outside city limits means Tucson may still face the environmental impacts without the direct benefits or regulatory control. * **Lack of Transparency:** The initial lack of transparency in the Project Blue process has eroded public trust and highlighted the need for more open governance. **Material Financial Data:** No specific financial data related to the project's cost or potential revenue was provided in this summary. However, the mention of a potential 14% rate hike by Tucson Electric Power suggests that energy costs are a significant financial consideration for the city and its residents. **Important Recommendations:** While no explicit recommendations were made in the news article, the actions of the Tucson City Council and the statements of its members imply a strong recommendation for: * **Implementing stricter regulations for data centers and other large water-consuming industries.** * **Prioritizing transparency and community engagement in future development projects.** * **Exploring and potentially adopting a public power model to ensure equitable energy distribution and costs.** * **Protecting the city's natural resources, particularly water, from unsustainable development.** **Significant Trends or Changes:** * **Increased Community Power:** The rejection of Project Blue demonstrates the significant influence of community activism and public pressure on local government decisions. * **Shift in Development Priorities:** The council's decision signals a potential shift in Tucson's development priorities, moving away from large, water-intensive projects towards more sustainable and community-aligned growth. * **Renewed Focus on Public Power:** The debate has invigorated the movement for public power in Tucson, suggesting a growing dissatisfaction with the current energy supplier.
Tucson City Council rejects Project Blue data center amid intense community pressure - AZ Luminaria
Read original at News Source →A community meeting was packed with opponents of Project Blue on Monday, Aug. 4. Credit: Michael McKissonThe Tucson city council voted unanimously Wednesday against bringing the massive and water-devouring Project Blue data center — tied to tech giant Amazon — into city limits. After weeks of escalating public outrage over the lack of transparency around Project Blue, the council voted to end negotiations and remove the annexation and development agreement from the upcoming council meeting agenda — a move that effectively shuts down one of the largest development projects ever considered by the city.
“We can all agree this project got off on the wrong foot,” said council member Nikki Lee, who represents Ward 4, where the proposed site is located. “The way that data centers are being built is not sustainable. This is not the type of development that residents of Ward 4 would like.”Tucsonans have spoken out loudly and clearly and I hear you,” said Mayor Regina Romero, who initiated the process for an ordinance placing limits on future possible data centers.
“It is my responsibility to create guardrails to protect Tucson from this industry that is already here in Arizona.” Cheering erupted from opponents packed into the council chambers after the vote, who jumped to their feet as the development company representatives behind the project left the room.
“I had hope but zero expectations,” said Vivek Bharathan Wednesday, breathing a sigh of relief as No Desert Data Center members celebrated and cheered around him. “This is a huge win.”Bharathan said the group would, in some form, plan to take part in a coming conversation about how to protect Tucson’s natural resources from future data centers.
“Some collection of us will be here to carry the work forward.” Opponents of the data center project cheered as the council voted against annexation. Photo by Yana Kunichoff.In a statement Wednesday, Beale Infrastructure said they were disappointed with Tucson’s decision not to move ahead with Project Blue, despite working to make the proposal compatible with the city’s climate goals.
“It is a missed opportunity for the City,” the statement said, noting that Beale believed data centers should be designed by working in close partnership with communities. “We look forward to sharing our future plans.”The vote doesn’t mean that Project Blue is over for the region. Beale and Pima County entered into a purchase and sale agreement for 290 acres of unincorporated land in June.
The project developer was interested in having that land annexed into Tucson to access city water supplies, but could consider other locations to build outside Tucson city limits. Moving ahead, the city council will begin the process of creating local ordinances to keep large water users accountable and update zoning requirements to address the impacts of possible future data centers.
Those ordinances could be up for consideration as soon as the Aug. 19 city council meeting, said Romero. “I feel a weight has totally lifted,” said No Desert Data Center artist Maria Renée, who made one of the first visuals for the group. “i also feel a continued responsibility to show up and continue to advocate for policy that puts guard rails on large water users.
” Council members also expressed concerns about how the process of Project Blue took place, echoing a conversation happening at the county level about the use of non-disclosure agreements spurred by concerns around the project. “I believe that this proposal should have never made it this far,” said Ward 1 council member Lane Santa Cruz.
“We need to be the city that says not here, not now and not like this.”A new day for public power? The process may also have opened up a long-burning debate: the future of a public power option in Tucson. Since October 2024, a group of organizers with the Democratic Socialists of America have run a campaign to encourage Tucson to break its contract with longtime energy supplier Tucson Electric Power and run its own energy utility.
Amid the data center debate, there were a flurry of questions over how TEP would meet the center’s significant energy demand, and how to ensure the additional cost wouldn’t fall on residential consumers. Earlier this year, the company asked for a 14% rate hike. “The biggest piece of this project that concerned me is we have a flawed system here with not using public power,” said Ward 2 council member Paul Cunningham.
“When the public power people came to me a few months ago I was like, ‘maybe yes, maybe not — we’ll see.’”Since the debate over Project Blue, Cunningham said his opinion had changed. “There was no way in this situation to guarantee that if we did build this data center that some partial outbuild for the power supply to the data center wasn’t going to be passed on to our ratepayers,” Cunningham said.
“We’ve got to work towards seeing that we’ve fixed that.” “I’m very excited to hear that Paul Cunningham recognized we need public power,” said public power campaign organizer Lee Ziesche after the meeting. See all of Arizona Luminaria’s Project Blue coverage.Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
Yana Kunichoff is a reporter, documentary producer and Report For America corps member based in Tucson. She covers community resilience in Southern Arizona. Previously, she covered education for The Arizona...
