TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Persistent public scrutiny of the proposed Project Blue data-center campus drew a vocal showing Tuesday at the Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, despite the project itself not being on the agenda.
Although no official action was taken during the session, members of the No Desert Data Center Coalition attended to press their opposition to the massive project planned for a 290-acre site north of the county fairgrounds.
“We’re gonna keep the pressure on especially Matt Heinz and the entire board of supervisors… to not allow the contract between TEP and Beale infrastructure to go through,” said coalition member Marisol Winfrey Herrera. She added, “Literally any other kind of industrial development would bring more jobs than a data center. It just requires very few people.”
Her remarks echoed concerns voiced by other opponents, including Lee Ziesche, another organizer with the group: “It’s going to jack up our Tucson Electric Power bills. We are all workers, too, and we already can’t afford our TEP bills.”
District 2 Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz responded directly to the criticisms, saying the current version of the project “no longer uses industrial levels of water… We’re not talking about water cooling, evaporative cooling. That would have used over 1,000 households worth of water per year.”
However, he did say the deal is all but done. “Our own lawyers and other lawyers outside the county have given us their opinions. And I do believe we’re kind of stuck with that particular land deal,” Heinz said.
Project Blue is proposed as a $3.6 billion investment involving a campus of up to 10 data-center buildings on a parcel rezoned from rural to light-industrial in June 2025. Developers project roughly 180 full-time jobs and 3,000 construction jobs during the build period. The project also includes infrastructure improvements, including pipelines for reclaimed water and upgraded energy systems.
Still, public skepticism remains high. Critics argue that data centers, which can consume large volumes of power and water, pose risks in a desert environment. Project Blue has pledged a “water positive” model, meaning it would replenish all water it consumes, but opponents say key details remain undisclosed.
With county officials saying they have limited ability to intervene further absent developer changes, the debate is expected to shift next month when the Tucson City Council takes up City annexation and regulatory questions tied to the project. For now, community members say their efforts are far from over.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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