On July 23, 2025, local leaders and planners for Project Blue—a proposed $3.6 billion data center campus on Tucson’s southeast side—held a public forum at Mica Mountain High School. The event, requested by Ward 4 Councilmember Nikki Lee, drew a packed crowd amid growing controversy over the project’s environmental impact.
Locals Fill High School Auditorium at Public Event for Project Blue
The school’s multipurpose room was filled with trade workers, protesters, curious citizens, and a notably large police presence.
From the start, jeers and heckles from the crowd disrupted the city officials’ and project developers’ presentation.
The city manager pleaded with the often-disruptive crowd to allow time “to give facts.” About 20 minutes in, he threatened to end the meeting early if interruptions continued.
The city manager appeared uncomfortable handling diverse opinions and expressions from the audience.
The team addressed water consumption, drawing loud boos at the claim that Project Blue would be “water positive.” Details on water volume and allocation remained a key point of contention.
While officials insisted the project would be net water positive through investments in conservation and a new aquifer recharge facility, critics questioned the addition of bio-inhibitors—chemicals used in cooling water to prevent biological growth. The city manager’s explanation delved into “paper water” (legal rights) versus “wet water” (actual supply), asserting the project wouldn’t impact the city’s overall water conditions despite Arizona’s drought challenges. Attendees largely appeared unconvinced.
Concerns about maintenance costs for the 18-mile pipeline were raised. The response? The project will pay its water bill. Skeptics remain, rightfully, still worried that taxpayers might ultimately bear upkeep costs after construction.
The public was unamused when the power consumption slide lacked specific measures. One questioner summed up the presentation as “fact-lite.” Official estimates project up to 1.3 gigawatts of power use, funded by grid upgrades paid for by the developer.)
Absent from the discussion was Blue Owl Capital’s role in the deal—as the parent company of developer Beale Infrastructure—or that its top investors include Fidelity and Vanguard, firms in which some key decision-makers may hold interests, raising questions about potential conflicts.
The end user appears to be Amazon Web Services, per a 2023 county memo, adding to calls for transparency. But details remain sparse due to heavily defended non-disclosure agreements by leaders at Wednesday night’s meeting.
We’ll continue following this controversial project closely.
The next public meeting discussing Project Blue is on August 6, 2025, at the Tucson City Council study session, where you can voice your concerns. Additional forums are planned, including one on July 31, and a potential vote in October.
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