Cloud giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been named as the end customer for a planned data center campus in Tucson, Arizona. Project Blue is a 290-acre site set to host a data center campus. At least three data centers are reportedly set to be built, but the final number of buildings could be higher; some reports suggest up to 10 buildings totaling 2 million sq ft (185,805 sqm) and 600MW are planned. … A new opposition group, No Desert Data Center, is attempting to mobilize residents against the project over its water use and potential impact on the area. The site is reportedly set to use drinking water for its cooling systems for at least the first two years of operation until it can switch to using treated wastewater once a new water line is completed.

Other data center water use news:

• Arizona Public Media: Amazon Web Services is company behind Tucson’s Project Blue, according to 2023 county memo
• KGUN (Tucson, Ariz.): Company behind Project Blue data center unveils information, sparking debate amongst attendees
• Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah): Is the arid West ready for data centers amid water pressures?
• Western Water Notes: Blog: The data center crunch
• Marketplace: Podcast: What happens when a data center moves to town?