GLENDALE, AZ — The Phoenix area is experiencing a data center construction boom, transforming vacant lots and former farmland to meet digital demand in Arizona and beyond.
Data centers keep the digital world running around the clock — streaming TV, cloud storage, banking, and artificial intelligence - but these facilities also require substantial power and water, which impact surrounding communities.
DataCenterMap.com tracks locations worldwide and ranks Arizona eighth in the U.S. with 160 existing and proposed facilities statewide.
Why is Arizona such a draw?
"Land is inexpensive in Arizona; they require a lot of land to build," said Vijay Vittal, a professor at ASU's School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering.
Vittal said Arizona has also offered tax incentives and a geographic advantage "very close to the western tech markets" like California's Silicon Valley.
Matt Bullock, Peoria's Mayor Pro Tem and owner of a data protection and cybersecurity company that works with data centers, echoed that assessment.
"Arizona has one of the lowest seismic activity areas, unlike California or other parts of the country," Bullock said. "And because we have such wide open areas, it's very easy to get power and water infrastructure to data center locations."
Data centers' demand for power and water — and the impact on nearby communities — is drawing pushback from some Arizona residents.
April Butler lives near a proposed data center in Glendale called Project Eagle, also known as Project Baccara, located on Olive Avenue just east of the Loop 303. She says the project is massive.
"The biggest part will be three data centers, and they're just back to back to back," Butler said.
Butler and her neighbors spoke out at a Glendale City meeting in September.
"I don't think we have a lot of laws in place to protect us," Butler said. "There are other states that were quicker enacting moratoriums and putting rules and guidelines in place to where it's a little bit more difficult to get those projects in."
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Peoria is also facing pushback over a large data center preparing to build there. Bullock said councilmembers are considering changes to zoning rules that would require special use permits for future data center projects or greater oversight.
"To ensure they're using the reclaimed water, closed-loop [cooling systems], bring their own power, building parks and roads and things, and helping local schools," Bullock said. "That's how it should have been done all along, and now we're just catching up."
As for Butler, she is standing her ground against Project Eagle.
"Do you have any hope you can stop this from coming?" I asked her.
"Absolutely," Butler said.
A final vote on the formal land annexation and rezoning applications is expected at the Glendale City Council Meeting scheduled for October 27.
