SURPRISE, Ariz. – As the West Valley of Maricopa County continues to grow each year, it has become a hotspot for new business and companies to expand within the city, including a massive new data center.
The Tankanock LLC proposed center, named Project Baccara, includes 700 Megawatts of on-site natural gas generators that would supply power to the data center and the regional power grid.
The approximately 2-million square feet proposed site, located near Luke Air Force Base, is designed to help store and process critical information with around 100 permanent jobs being provided. Tananock expects the project to provide roughly $41 million to Maricopa County Schools and $7 million to Maricopa County through annual taxes.
In partnership with Takanock, KP Environmental Consultant Sarah Justus hosted virtual public meetings to inform the public on the details of Project Baccara, including their reason for building the data center in the West Valley.
“Being near existing infrastructure saves you money in site development, [which is not just an advantage] to Takanock, but also to the community,” Justus said. “Many times, having to build out additional infrastructure isn’t necessarily on the developer, but sometimes those are taxpayer funded expansions.”
Despite Tankanock having belief in the project, local residents are skeptical of the potential health, financial and noise concerns that the center may produce.
West Valley resident Hollie Tolmachoff expressed her opposition at a recent city council meeting.
“When I wake up and step out of my home to enjoy the quiet of the morning, I envision a future view of 18 72-foot-tall exhaust stacks, breathing poisoned air and hearing the constant hum of jet engine powered generators running 24/7,” Tolmachoff said. “[I worry about] my children developing 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.”
In response to the numerous comments on how the city council could prevent Project Baccara, Mayor Kevin Sartor expressed the council's role in the situation and his support of the concerned residents
“This council has zero authority over the future of Project [Baccara] and I have concerns about the implications of our residents,” Sartor said. “This project is not in our planning area, but it will impact our residents and we are listening and we are going to advocate for our residents in every way that we can.”
In addition to the public comments, there is a “Stop Project Baccara” petition with over 1,400 signatures and a Facebook opposition group with over 1,100 members.
In response to the large group who are critical of the project, Justus welcomed the uneasiness.
“I certainly do not begrudge anybody that has questions or opposition to the project,” Justus said in the virtual meeting. “Questions [are great] and something I would certainly expect any community to ask us about.”