Local opinion: Public-health implications of data-center project must be considered

Although I serve on the Board of Health, I am writing as a private citizen.

I want to focus my remarks on the public health implications of the introduction of hyperscale data centers into Pima County, specifically the threat it poses to our electric power grid and the health and safety of our community.

According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a single hyperscale data center can require 100 or more megawatts of power, which is comparable to the energy consumption of a medium-sized city. Multiple centers are being proposed by Project Blue. There has been no verifiable evidence that the current electrical grid can support the additional power demand of these data centers, while simultaneously meeting the current and future power needs of Tucsonans. This fact was confirmed by the comments made by the TEP representative at a recent public meeting, when he stated that the current system could only support a small portion of the centers’ initial phase.

Hyperscale data centers contribute to power blackouts due to their high energy consumption, which places significant demand on the grid. If the grid is unstable or unable to meet this demand, especially during extreme summer temperatures, outages or blackouts can occur. This danger is magnified as Beale has indicated that their data centers will use air cooling, which is even more power-intensive.

In addition, data centers can also cause blackouts when they suddenly drop off the power grid, which can overload the system and lead to instability. This has happened in northern Virginia, where a large number of data centers switched to backup power simultaneously. This incident caused widespread blackouts, forcing grid operators to take emergency measures to stabilize power supply. So what happens to the health of our community in the event of an extreme summer heat blackout?

Researchers at Arizona State University looked at the impact on Phoenix of a two-day blackout with a three-day recovery period during a period of extreme heat. Their analysis concluded that if such an event occurred in Phoenix, it would necessitate the hospitalization of one-half of the population and result in the rate of heat-related mortality to increase by 700%.

One can reasonably assume, given similarities between Phoenix and Tucson in climate, building type and exposure scenarios, that heat-related mortality and morbidity would be similar. Without adequate air conditioning, hundreds of Tucsonans could perish, with thousands requiring hospital care. It is important to note that Tucson only has 2,648 hospital beds.

Clearly, the impact of a summer blackout would be cataclysmic, both in terms of human life and financial costs. With cuts in federal support for health care, many of our most vulnerable residents will be unable to pay for their care, even if they could somehow access it. Would Beale and Amazon Web Services cover those costs? Given all this, why on earth would you want to place the health of our community at such peril?

The Board of Supervisors should immediately cancel the sale of county land to Beale for Project Blue to protect the health and safety of our community.