Local opinion: An AI founder's verdict on Project Blue

As co-founder of Sky Island AI, a Tucson-based company helping local businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their operations, I understand the critical importance of data centers to our digital economy. My company depends on them every day. I want to see more built across the United States to support our technological future.

However, building them here in the Sonoran Desert, in a hot climate and in the midst of a historic drought, would be a profound mistake.

Project Blue’s developers promise a high-tech, water-positive, economic boon for Tucson. But a close look at the data reveals a project that would be a massive drain on our resources in exchange for a surprisingly small economic benefit.

The newly disclosed numbers are alarming. At full buildout, Project Blue will have the capacity to use up to 1.3 gigawatts of power. To put that in perspective, even operating at a conservative 50% capacity, Project Blue would consume more electricity than every single home in Tucson combined.

If Project Blue operates at 80% capacity, its annual energy use would surpass TEP’s current delivery to every home, business and industrial facility combined. In effect, it would be like adding a second Tucson to the grid. Publicly available data from major tech companies shows that data center energy use doesn’t plateau; it grows annually. With the coming explosion in AI, it is reasonable to assume Project Blue will operate at a high capacity, placing a historic strain on our grid. The official plan for sourcing this massive amount of power seems to be “we’ll figure it out later,” as project documents state they merely “envision” that future energy procurement will meet the demand.

As President of the Tucson Mountains Association, an environmental advocacy organization founded in 1934 that represents thousands of Tucsonans, I am also deeply concerned about the environmental impacts. Project Blue documents say the energy demands “could modify the assumptions” used in Tucson’s Climate Action Plan. Mayor Romero and the City Council have worked hard to improve Tucson’s climate resiliency. Project Blue threatens to undo that great work.

Water is a serious concern as well. The project will initially use potable drinking water. The developers claim they will eventually switch to using reclaimed water, touting a “water positive” commitment. Large data center campuses like Project Blue often use millions of gallons per day, so achieving “water positivity” in our hot climate is an extraordinary claim that should be treated with skepticism. The deal contains financial penalties for using more water than expected, but that likely amounts to pocket change for a trillion-dollar tech company.

What does Tucson get for this strain on our resources? A temporary construction boom and only 75 to 180 permanent jobs. The Sky Island AI Economic Model projects that once construction is complete, Project Blue’s high resource consumption will make it a net drain on our economy every year. Trading our long-term prosperity and resource security for a one-time fiscal fix would be a shortsighted mistake.

This decision is not just about one project. If we approve this, more data centers from other companies will follow. Just look at Phoenix, where so many data centers have been built that the grid is strained to its limit. We are at a crossroads, and the City Council is being asked to approve the first step of a massive regional industrialization without a full public understanding of the long-term commitments.

Even though my business and livelihood are reliant on data centers, I urge Mayor Romero and the City Council to reject this proposal. We cannot gamble our water and energy security on a project that offers so little in return. I encourage every Tucsonan to explore the projected water, energy, and economic impacts for themselves on the Sky Island AI interactive dashboard, available at skyislandai.com/project-blue.

Let’s demand a better future for Tucson, one that prioritizes our community’s long-term sustainability. We need data centers, but they must be built in the right places. The Sonoran Desert is not one of them.