A massive data centre in water-scarce Arizona, US, has hit a major roadblock after months of local resistance. Tucson city council voted unanimously in August to deny a request to connect two large Amazon-linked data centres – known as ‘Project Blue’ – to the municipal water supply, throwing the plans into doubt.
Projected to guzzle 2.5 million cubic metres of water each year, the project sparked alarm in a region already grappling with drought. Rather than trusting offsetting promises made by development firm Beale Infrastructure, the community-led No Desert No Data Center campaign pressed local officials to block the plans.
