Arizona
Data centers are good for Arizona. Here’s why | Opinion
Data centers have gotten a bad rap lately, but here’s why we think they are actually good for Arizona. It starts with jobs.
Chandler City Council votes no on AI data center
Chandler becomes one of the first Phoenix-area cities to reject a data center, despite months of lobbying by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Arizona data centers have generated a lot of political heat in recent weeks.
At her State of the State address, Gov. Katie Hobbs questioned the social benefit of data centers and signaled an interest in reinstating a sales tax on data center equipment purchases. Neal Carter, a Republican state legislator, agrees with Hobbs. So too might Republican state legislator Leo Biasiucci.
A month ago, the Chandler City Council unanimously rejected a proposed data center despite the lobbying efforts of former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Hundreds of Chandler residents filled the auditorium for the vote, and 256 residents submitted online comments opposing the data center.
In Tucson, the city council unanimously rejected connecting a large data center (Project Blue) to the city’s water system. Attorney General Kris Mayes is now looking deeper into Project Blue, Tucson Electric Power and the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Here at The Arizona Republic, the opinion section published an editorial on Jan. 20 (Arizona data centers bring hidden water risks), and the news section printed an article on Jan. 18 (Gas power plant for data center project stirs concerns in Surprise), both of which cast data centers in a less-than-flattering light.
And earlier this week, handfuls of speakers at the Corporation Commission blamed data centers for proposed APS rate hikes.
Each situation has its own complexities and justifications (and I’ll get into some of them in future weeks). Some opposition is more factually substantiated than others. But they’re all rooted in a suspicion that these large warehouses of computer servers that power the modern world are no longer great things for Arizona.
Arizona data center benefits starts with jobs
If we may be so bold, and to set the stage for future articles here at the Republic, here are a few reasons why Arizona should celebrate our position as a top 10 state for data centers:
- Jobs. It’s not just the people employed by data centers (many of which are high-paying jobs), but the ancillary jobs needed by data centers: contracted electricians, carpenters, pipefitters, HVAC technicians, etc. PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) found that data centers accounted for 81,000 jobs in Arizona as of 2023.
- Taxes. It’s the start of the state legislative season and, sadly, this is going to be one of those years in which we hear lots about the things we can’t afford. But data centers help that equation. According to the same PwC report, data centers generated $2.3 billion in state and local tax revenue from 2017 to 2021. That means money for schools and roads. Or lower state income taxes (as happened).
- Tech center. It’s a truism that tech begets other tech. We’ve said this as we’ve celebrated the massive expansions of TSMC and Intel. It’s also true of data centers. And if proprietors of data centers – companies like Amazon and Microsoft – are happy with Arizona as a data center home, they’ll likely consider Arizona a home for other tech investments.
- Buying unwanted power. Normal businesses use power during the day (8 am-5 pm). Homes use power during the evening (5-11 pm). But few users demand power overnight (11 pm-8 am). This means we often have to dump unsold power. But data centers need power around the clock, and they can buy that overnight power, generating revenue for Arizona utility companies that then doesn’t have to be generated from Arizona households.
Those are the benefits.
Detractors focus on power, water and land. They’re all important, but solvable.
On power, public utilities can, and should, ensure data centers pay for all the power they use–not the public. The Salt River Project (SRP) website states this explicitly on its website. APS announced a proposed 45% increase on data center electricity costs to “make sure that (data centers) will continue to pay their fair share.” The recent agreement between Tucson Electric Power and Project Blue intends to do the same. And some data centers are even looking at generating their own power.
Data centers aren’t our biggest water worry
Regarding water, data centers have gotten so efficient at water use that, in some cases, they would use less water than vacant warehouses (of which there are, sadly, many). The Project Blue data center before Tucson City Council promised to be water-positive for the city, and other cities, such as Chandler have proposed caps on water usage by data centers. These caps are the same that apply to other businesses; data centers don’t get a special water deal. And, really, if you’re looking to pin water woes on any industry, it’s not chip-manufacturing, and it’s not data centers. It’s farming (over 70% of Arizona’s water supply goes to agriculture).
Lastly, regarding land, of course people don’t want to have neighborhoods disrupted by massive warehouses. And nobody should feel like they got into a bidding war with a data center for a home in a cute, quiet neighborhood. That’s why we have noise ordinances and zoning laws. Arizona still has plenty of space. The smart people in city planning can figure it out. And unlike big box stores, data centers don’t have 18-wheelers constantly delivering supplies.
Arizona is a state known for growth. We’ve grown massively in residents. We’ve grown massively in housing (and need to do more). We’ve grown massively in tourism. We’ve grown massively in healthcare. We’ve grown massively in education. And we’ve recently grown massively in semiconductors.
There’s no reason we can’t keep growing in data centers.
Stephen Richer is the CEO of Republic Affairs, a fellow at the Cato Institute, and a former Maricopa County Recorder. Josh Heywood is operations manager at Republic Affairs.
PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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