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Arizona AG urges pause on new data center approvals over power and water
Arizona cites power- and water-intensive operations, noting the state expects higher utility bills after the federal government cut Colorado River water supply by almost 30% earlier this month.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is urging a pause on all new data center development while the state creates regulations and policies for future projects, arguing that Arizona faces pressure on both electricity and water. In a Monday press release, Mayes said the “only sane thing” is to pause approvals because data centers are power- and water-intensive, and Arizona is challenged on both fronts. The outlet notes Arizona is home to 160 data centers, including 149 in Phoenix, and that a pause could disrupt plans for roughly three dozen proposed Phoenix facilities and about half a dozen currently under construction.
Opponents have pointed to significant water and power use, noise and light pollution, and community displacement, according to the report. The push is occurring as residents also anticipate rising energy bills following the Department of the Interior’s nearly 30% cut to the state’s Colorado River water supply earlier this month, the outlet said.
The attorney general’s call also builds on recent state and local actions. Last year, Phoenix updated its data center zoning ordinance to require developers to address health and safety concerns when applying for permits, and in June the state enacted a three-year pause on new tax incentives and exemptions that has disrupted some projects, including a data center campus in Casa Grande. Mayes plans to host a town hall Oct. 14 in Phoenix’s Ahwatukee village to hear community input on Menlo Digital’s planned 1M SF, 38-acre hyperscale data center campus.