Craig Smith is KGUN 9's Southeast side reporter. Send your story ideas to Craig at craig.smith@kgun9.com.
Renewable energy, and millions of dollars for community needs—-those are written into a binding agreement with the Project Blue data center that Pima County Supervisors accepted Tuesday.Pima Supervisors agreed three to two to accept an agreement that binds Project Blue to 100 percent renewable energy.
Project opponents have been hoping Pima Supervisors will not close the land deal for the project but this vote was a separate matter. Supervisors say the contract requires the deal to go through. The closing is planned before Christmas.Tuesday’s board action was whether Pima County Supervisors should accept an agreement with the companies behind the Project Blue Data CenterHumphrey’s Peak and Beale Infrastructure offered Pima County a signed commitment that:-Promises the companies will use 100 percent renewable energy-Uses an independent review of whether it met that promise-Makes $15 million dollars in donations to include money for science education and trade schoolsOpponents urged Supervisors to reject any deal with a company they do not trust.Derrick Espadas says “We get put in a position where we don’t get to have our town anymore. We don’t get to have Tucson; and there's a lot of celebration of who we are historically, and that kind of goes away if we have this data center, if we open the flood gates, we say Tucson is for sale. Come take us.”But Union workers support Project Blue. They urged Supervisors to accept the agreement. They like the prospect of thousands of good jobs building the center, and the promise of money to train new workers.Mark Estes of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers says: “The project has millions of dollars that could be flooded into the economy and their support of the trade schools could be a tremendous benefit to the community if you pass this.”Supervisors Andres Cano and Jennifer Allen voted no. They say they understand the appeal of jobs and billions poured into the local economy but the jobs the project will provide are not worth the environmental impact of a project that will use large amounts of electricity and possibly attract more datacenters like it.Supervisor Cano remembered how chemicals allowed to seep into the groundwater on Tucson’s southside left many people there with cancer and other illnesses.“Our community has lived the price of ‘trust us’. We have lived the consequences of secrecy. We have lived the damage done when public health is treated as an afterthought, when residents are asked to carry the risk while someone else collects the reward. That is why I cannot support Project Blue in its original or current form.”Supervisor Rex Scott says Pima County did a good job getting Project Blue to make binding commitments to renewable energy, and to promise donations to education and job training. He says the project will be a $3.6 Billion investment that will bring tax income to support schools and community needs.
Craig Smith KGUN9 Pima County Project Blue Data Center Datacenter
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