Pima County

Moratoriums and bans

1. Aug. 5, 2026 Tucson: Zoning regulations (large-scale data centers). The council created large-scale data centers as a defined use requiring a half-mile buffer from homes and schools, a 1,000-foot buffer from commercial zones, noise studies, batteries before generators, proof of power and water, and public hearings. Staff were told to keep studying a ban; the city attorney warned that a moratorium carries risk under state law. (AZ Luminaria, Aug. 6, 2026)
2. Sept. 30, 2026 Marana: Data center ordinance and proposed amendments. A 2024 town ordinance requires data center applicants to estimate annual water use and name the source, and bars town potable water for cooling. Amendments heard Sept. 30, 2026 would cap residential-area noise at 55 dB, require testing before and after construction, and require decommissioning plans with money set aside up front. (AZ Luminaria, Jan. 8, 2026; AZBEX, Nov. 7, 2025; KOLD 13 News, Sept. 30, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Sept. 30, 2026 Beale Marana data center campus (Luckett Road) · Marana held a hearing on ordinance amendments for noise and decommissioning; Beale said it would not attend. (KOLD 13 News, Sept. 30, 2026)
2. Sept. 30, 2026 Marana: Data center ordinance and proposed amendments · A 2024 town ordinance requires data center applicants to estimate annual water use and name the source, and bars town potable water for cooling. Amendments heard Sept. 30, 2026 would cap residential-area noise at 55 dB, require testing before and after construction, and require decommissioning plans with money set aside up front. (AZ Luminaria, Jan. 8, 2026; AZBEX, Nov. 7, 2025; KOLD 13 News, Sept. 30, 2026)
3. Aug. 5, 2026 Tucson: Zoning regulations (large-scale data centers) · The council created large-scale data centers as a defined use requiring a half-mile buffer from homes and schools, a 1,000-foot buffer from commercial zones, noise studies, batteries before generators, proof of power and water, and public hearings. Staff were told to keep studying a ban; the city attorney warned that a moratorium carries risk under state law. (AZ Luminaria, Aug. 6, 2026)
4. June 26, 2026 Ranch House data center rezoning · The town manager confirmed a second data center rezoning application, filed in November, was in review with no approvals. (KOLD 13 News, June 26, 2026)
5. April 24, 2026 Project Blue · Construction began on what is planned as a 10-building campus targeted to open by 2028; the No Desert Data Center Coalition protested at the site. (KOLD 13 News, April 24, 2026)
6. Jan. 8, 2026 Project Blue · Attorney General Kris Mayes, the City of Tucson and two residents asked the ACC to rehear the TEP agreement. (AZ Luminaria, Jan. 8, 2026)
7. Jan. 6, 2026 Beale Marana data center campus (Luckett Road) · The Town Council approved the rezoning unanimously among members voting; Council member Herb Kai, whose family trust owns one parcel, was absent. (AZ Luminaria, Jan. 8, 2026; KOLD 13 News, June 26, 2026)
8. Dec. 24, 2025 Project Blue · The county land sale closed. (AZ Luminaria, Jan. 8, 2026)
9. Dec. 10, 2025 Beale Marana data center campus (Luckett Road) · The Marana planning commission recommended the rezoning 6-0. (AZ Luminaria, Jan. 8, 2026)
10. Dec. 3, 2025 Project Blue · The Arizona Corporation Commission approved TEP's 10-year energy supply agreement with Humphrey's Peak Power LLC 4-1, with minimum bills, an 18-month load ramp, developer-paid dedicated infrastructure and exit fees; Commissioner Rachel Walden dissented. (Arizona Corporation Commission, Dec. 5, 2025)
11. Nov. 7, 2025 Beale Marana data center campus (Luckett Road) · AZBEX reported Beale's applications under Marana's data center ordinance for two roughly 300-acre sites. (AZBEX, Nov. 7, 2025)
12. Sept. 19, 2025 Project Blue · Beale said it would revive the project on the same county land with a new TEP power deal and closed-loop cooling. (KJZZ (Fronteras Desk), Sept. 19, 2025)
13. Aug. 6, 2025 Project Blue · Tucson's mayor and council unanimously moved to end city participation, dropping the annexation and water-service agreement. (Construction Reporter, Aug. 7, 2025; KOLD 13 News, April 24, 2026)
14. July 22, 2025 Project Blue · County memos reported by AZ Luminaria identify Amazon Web Services as the end user; the county had been under a nondisclosure agreement since at least June 2024. (Data Center Dynamics, July 22, 2025)
15. June 2025 Project Blue · Pima County supervisors voted 3-2 to rezone the parcel to light industrial and approved selling the county land for the project. (Data Center Dynamics, July 22, 2025; KJZZ (Fronteras Desk), Sept. 19, 2025)

Statewide

The 2026 state budget, signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs in June 2026, pauses new data center sales and use tax exemptions for three years. The program, created in 2013, costs about $38 million a year; the bill number and how existing certificates are treated were not confirmed. (Bloomberg Law, June 15, 2026) Utility large-load contracts: the ACC approved TEP's 10-year energy supply agreement for Project Blue (Docket E-01933A-25-0187, Dec. 3, 2025), with minimum bills and developer-paid dedicated infrastructure. (Arizona Corporation Commission, Dec. 5, 2025) APS: on Oct. 9, 2026, Attorney General Kris Mayes asked the ACC to investigate an analyst's claim that large users underpaid about $600 million; the ACC disagreed and pointed to the pending APS rate case (docket not confirmed). (KJZZ, Oct. 10, 2026) Arizona data centers →