West Valley residents, officials wary of latest data center effort

I worry that my children will develop life-altering health conditions because I allowed them to live next to this environmental monstrosity.”

Hollie Tolmachoff | West Valley resident

By Jason Stone
Mail | X: @thestonecave

Hollie Tolmachoff lives just outside of the Surprise city limits, but her family’s life revolves around places inside it.

Their children attend Surprise schools, the family shops at its stores and they complete other day-to-day tasks in Surprise.

“We may not be Surprise residents, but we definitely feel like it,” Tolmachoff told the Surprise City Council last month during a call to the public segment.

Tolmachoff addressed the council because of a controversial project that’s proposed near her home off Peoria Avenue by the Justice Brothers farm.

Project Baccara is the plan of 2-year-old Michigan-based Takanock, which wants to build a new data center with on-site natural gas generators in an industrial area north of Luke Air Force Base at Bullard and Olive avenues, a half-mile south of Surprise.

The data center site selection development company is asking for Maricopa County to approve its massive complex. It wants to construct a pair of two-story data center buildings, on-site electric generation facilities and a substation yard in order to add power to the regional grid and store critical information like medical records, financial software and national security information.

What makes the plan worrisome for nearby residents and Surprise city officials is the possible environmental impact of multiple 72-foot smoke stacks that are part of the plans.

“I worry that my children will develop life-altering health conditions because I allowed them to live next to this environmental monstrosity, and being stuck in a home that I can’t afford to sell because it’s dropped 15% in value,” Tolmachoff told the council.

Mayor Kevin Sartor told Tolmachoff the council was listening but did not have authority to govern a project on Maricopa County land. That didn’t keep the city from investigating the impact on Surprise.

Community Development Director Lloyd Abrams said the city requested a series of studies and reports as part of the review process. Those include air quality, noise and a transportation impact analysis.

The two data center buildings, which would combine for 1 million square feet of space, would use approximately 700 megawatts of natural gas generators to supply power to them.

The on-site electric generation facilities would feature 18 natural gas-fired combustion turbine units, which is the equivalent of that many jet engines fired up around the clock.

The substation yard would support the interconnection with the existing APS transmission system.

Takanock estimates the project will bring more than 1,000 construction jobs and up to 200 permanent jobs to the region.

But public pushback about the same concerns as Surprise’s officials have is starting to grow.

Local Facebook groups, such as “Stop Project Baccara,” have formed to organize opposition and share information.

District 6 Councilmember Chris Judd said he has begun receiving correspondence on the issue from concerned residents.

“This is half a mile from my district, so we’re really interested in what’s happening out here,” Judd said during a city council meeting in late September.

Judd said the Red Bull and Ball manufacturing plants that are directly south of Surprise have produced a steady low-pitched hum in the area.

“And I’m a mile from it and I can hear it, so I can’t imagine what 18 jet engines are going to sound like,” Judd said.

Takanock held a trio of public meetings ­ — one of them online — in August and September to answer questions from the public about the project. Some members of the Surprise City Council also took a tour of the plant over the summer to find out what’s going on.

Abrams told the council during its last meeting the air quality report will be a key one to study once the company releases it. He even told council anecdotally the wind at his home near the proposed project site usually blows the northeast, not directly east like Takanock is contending will happen.

The company said it hopes to start construction by the end of the next year, with the two data centers opening in 2028 and 2030.

The project will still require a Military Compatibility Permit with a Plan of Development from Maricopa County. The company also plans to seek a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Both the county and state processes will involve public hearings, including the county planning and zoning commission and the county board of supervisors.

Surprise would be the responding agency for fire and emergency issues, thanks to a mutual aid agreement with other West Valley cities. Surprise Fire Station 308 at 13771 W. Cactus Road, would be the closest station to the proposed site.

“I think it’s important that our residents are aware of this,” Judd said at the last council meeting. “We can advocate, but it’s important they advocate for themselves for something that’s important.”

To keep up with project updates, visit projectbaccara.com.

Jason Stone can be reached at jstone@iniusa.org. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.

Jason Stone
Senior News Editor | Surprise

jstone@iniusa.com

Meet Jason
Jason Stone joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2019, after a distinguished three decade media career that included stops at the Arizona Republic, iHeart Media/Clear Channel and Beckett Sports Card magazine. He remembers when airports sold newspapers.

Community: He is a big supporter of the Valley's original sports team: The Phoenix Suns.

Education: Northern Arizona University with a BS in broadcast journalism and a minor in sports coaching.

Random Fact: The capital of Nebraska is Lincoln.

Hobbies: Surfing, backgammon and men who aren't afraid to cry.