Resident backlash spurs reduction in proposed Pinal County data center

The developer of a proposed data center in Pinal County plans to reduce the enterprise by 80% following an outcry from residents throughout parts of the county.

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, Aug. 26, will hear the revised plan for the La Osa Energy Center, which would sit on more than 3,300 acres along the Greene Wash of the Santa Cruz Wash in the planning area boundary south of Eloy in the unincorporated area of Pinal County.

If approved, La Osa Energy Center will be Pinal County’s first data center.

Vermaland LLC was requesting to rezone 2,393 acres of the site from general rural to industrial zoning district, with 992 acres of proposed open space.

Originally, the board was set to decide the issue during its May 27 meeting but instead voted to continue the matter until August at the request of Vermaland after a representative revealed the updated plan.

Under the conceptual site plan, the build-out of the La Osa Energy Center would have included up to 59 data center buildings and two sites for gas-fired power plants, according to a county staff report. The maximum building height would be 60 feet for each data center building.

During the May 27 meeting, the applicant’s representative, Court Rich of Rose Law Group, announced the steep downsizing of the proposed data center. He said the revised plans call for 11 buildings and one gas plant.

Rich told the board that throughout the rezoning process the project has received support from landowners neighboring the proposed center, Eloy officials and the Pinal County Planning & Zoning Commission.

In the days before the board vote, almost 100 letters, emails and comments opposing the center were directed to supervisors. Several people spoke against the project during the meeting, citing the same concerns about rising power rates, heavy water use and environmental issues heard in many other communities across the county.

Rich acknowledged the backlash in announcing the revised plans.

“We have heard enough that we’ve reached a conclusion and the owner wanted me to come here today and let you all know that he wants to make this project smaller,” Rich said. “That’s as a result of the input and the fact that this is the first data center to go through the zoning process in Pinal County.”

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.