r/arizona • u/FunPriority8358 • 3d ago
Politics Largest proposed data center in Arizona to be scaled back 80% after opposition
https://www.kjzz.org/fronteras-desk/2026-05-28/largest-proposed-data-center-in-arizona-to-be-scaled-back-80-after-opposition131
u/bschmidt25 3d ago
I would wager a lot that it's not because of opposition. Since when have data center developers ever cared about that? More likely it's that many of these projects are facing more scrutiny from the investors they need to fund these projects and they can't get the commitments they need to build it out to its original planned scale.
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u/Wonderful_Sector_657 3d ago
More scrutiny from investors because public opinion and adoption is terrible. So I’d wager yes, investors are paying attention to the growing opposition.
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u/Wash_zoe_mal Phoenix 3d ago
Only 20% more to go.
We don't need AI and we don't need Data centers. Those are for the rich.
We need food, water and a stable environment, which the rich don't provide.
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u/mog_knight 3d ago
It would still need to be 100% more to go since it's already been scaled back 80% to 20%. 20% more would be 16% remaining.
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u/itsdr00 3d ago
You used a data center to post your comment. Every time you connect to the internet, you are using a long series of data centers. Modern farmers, municipal and state water organizations, and every single climate organization in existence leverages data centers.
You do not have to be blindly pro-data center, but being blindly anti-data center is ignorance.
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u/TonalParsnips 3d ago
There is no demand that requires building new data centers outside of useless and wasteful AI products, and storage for the expansion of the surveillance state. Neither of these are of any benefit to 99% of the public.
You are arguing semantics and bringing absolutely nothing of value to this discussion.
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u/itsdr00 3d ago
I don't know what conversation you're reading, but I'm pretty sure you've joined one where one person is arguing that all data centers should be dismantled, while another says "data centers have value actually," which is not a semantic argument.
If you believe that some data centers are good and some data centers are bad, that's fine, but that's actually a different conversation!
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u/TonalParsnips 3d ago
You are wasting everyone's time here in a fake argument about nothing. Stop it.
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u/Wash_zoe_mal Phoenix 3d ago
We don't need reddit. We don't need the Internet. It's a privilege and we have abused the planet for it. It's not worth it.
You cannot eat, drink or breathe a data center, unless you're a robot.
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u/itsdr00 3d ago
Modern farmers, municipal and state water organizations, and every single climate organization in existence leverages data centers.
You eat, drink, and breathe the benefits of data centers. The costs are worth addressing; burning them all down would lead to a lower standard of living across the board.
The internet is a miracle. It's making a lot of parts of life much better. But you hate it because social media algorithms are absolutely atrocious, one of the worst things to happen to humanity in the modern era. The era of the internet older people are nostalgic for is the fully pre-Facebook.
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u/asusc 2d ago
no, we hate it because billionaires that will never have enough are using AI and datacenters to drive up the cost of everything, while corrupting our government, not paying taxes, and making all other aspects of our lives worse.
if AI and data centers were run by ethical actors who lived in their own communities and had a vested interest in being good stewards to the local tax base, we would not be having this conversation right now. if the same CEOs and their families and kids lived next door to these warehouses, we would not be having this conversation.
but we both know that’s not the case, and the monsters that run these companies have to pay off the local politicians to force this nonsense onto us that uses too much power, too much water, and makes too much noise. given all the other corruption and bullshit in the world, people are finally starting to smarten up, that tech companies and technology leaders do not have our best interest in mind, and until they come up with proposals that benefit the community, they are going to keep seeing push back.
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u/Danominator 3d ago
Look how quickly they are ready to build all this bullshit. Why hasnt there been a huge push for solar?
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u/Stunning_Coffee6624 3d ago
Twenty years from now we will be having conversations about what to do with all the failed data centers. They will become the defunct malls of tomorrow.
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u/RAF2018336 3d ago
As long as people keep using iCloud, Google photos, onedrive they’ll never be defunct lol People complain all they want but when it comes down to it they can’t make any actual changes to help
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u/derkrieger 3d ago
The mega datacenters will basically rot while normal Datacenters will still find plenty of use. The megastructures are a huge waste of money and also just bad planning. They're trying to use public dollars to subsidize the cost and also avoid all steps that could be taken to make the mega DCs safer and far less harmful but you know....that would cost money.
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u/Fuckjoesanford 3d ago
Time to scale it back 100%. Fuck them. Building data centers in the desert is a stupid idea.
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u/Kma_all_day 3d ago
They’re going to start proposing 17 mi.² data centers and then everyone will be so relieved when they scale them back to what they originally intended on building anyway
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u/MobilePenguins 3d ago
If APS didn’t keep raising electric prices so often maybe I wouldn’t be opposed. These AI Companies are not doing enough to shield normal every day consumers from it negatively effecting their lives and wallets, so naturally they’re gonna push back and vote against something that isn’t in their best interest, or elect politicians who promise to stop data centers.
For AI companies to thrive they’re gonna have to 100% shoulder the cost of electricity generation and mitigate the negative effects, or get voted out into oblivion.
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u/Scrutinizer 3d ago
I wonder if the fact Orange Dipshit shut down new energy projects like the enormous wind farm in New Mexico had anything to do with it?
These things consume water, power, and jobs with equal voraciousness. And power's about to get really scarce and expensive here because Dipshit Don has cut off new sources.
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u/BirdmanEagleson 3d ago
Listen wind has its own environmental issues. They are built inside of, an also create/enhance wind stream, birds use these as highways an its not small birds that are dying it's the big ones, falcons and eagles ect.
Solar is what we need to focus more on me thinks
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u/itsdr00 3d ago
The amount of birds killed by wind farms is a tiny fraction compared to the amount killed by outdoor cats.
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u/MrProspector19 3d ago
While I generally agree, it's like comparing shootings to car accidents.... If we can reduce both things we should. But they aren't necessarily related or dependent on eachother, and the fix for either isn't related to the other.
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u/itsdr00 3d ago
I do think it's worth helping birds avoid wind turbines, but these comparisons are worthwhile because they reveal that the scale of people's concern is not proportionate to the damage caused. And that's a red flag for someone making an argument from a position of bad faith. For instance, Trump doesn't give a shit about birds unless he's talking about wind energy; why is that?
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u/MrProspector19 3d ago
I see the point about bad faith arguers. There's so much BS flowing out the whitehouse I didn't even know he was using birds as a crutch for his choices.
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u/itsdr00 3d ago
Oh dude, if someone brings up a wind farm he does not shut up about the birds. It's crazy.
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u/Scrutinizer 3d ago
He is at war with wind energy because of what happened in Scotland. They put up windmills near his golf course and he hated it.
That's his whole reason for not wanting wind power. Everything else is him stealing oil company propaganda.
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u/sunburn_on_the_brain 3d ago
Wind turbines don’t kill a lot of birds. Plus they’ve figured out how to paint turbines in such a way that birds actively avoid them. The “but wind turbines are killing eagles and falcons!!!” is just a red herring.
Coal kills WAY more birds than wind turbines.
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u/PunksPrettyMuchDead 3d ago
The impact to wildlife can be mitigated by painting one arm of the turbine black.
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u/DrFeefus 3d ago
Shouldn't these data centers be like floating in orbit or something
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u/TTomBBab 3d ago
You can't get rid of heat in space as easily. Heat moves by conduction convection and radiation. In space all you can do is radiate you can't pump away the heat by blowing air or water against it.
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u/BirdmanEagleson 3d ago
They are working on it! Hopefully it's a reality that doesn't have some other unforseen draw back.
2050: humans have out so much shit in space we are now blocking the sun! global cooling Ice Age immanent All life on earth theatened.
I bet you $5 this happens 🙃
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u/MrProspector19 3d ago
Amazon orbital data center malfunctions and blows up after micrometeor impact, spraying debris into three nearby spaceX and Microsoft data centers and a whole line of 60 Starlink satellites. Pushing toward the upper orbits in a terrifying cascade into Kessler Syndrome. Scientist are calling that within 10 years the trash belt will be too risky to send humans through and too expensive to justify orbital missions. For the next 50-1500years space travel is extremely limited and satellite sevices eek on but are more limited and your gps keeps intermittently losing track of you.
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u/Chase-Boltz 2d ago
Bullshit!!!
They'll say anything to get the project started. Once the fuckers get their foot in the door all promises go straight out the window.
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u/[deleted] 3d ago
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