Why Arizona is now a hotspot for data center construction, and what residents want to change – ABC15 Arizona

Why Arizona is now a hotspot for data center construction, and what residents want to change  ABC15 Arizona

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,