Elected officials and community residents from across Yuma County heard presentations on data centers Friday morning at a meeting organized by the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., or GYEDC.
The meeting was initially not open to the general public but was opened as some residents had gathered to protest against data centers.
A data center is a physical facility that organizations use to house their critical applications and data. An AI data center is specifically designed to support the demanding computational requirements of artificial intelligence workloads.
Data center supporters say they bring jobs and can be a big driver of local revenue for cities and counties. Opponents, however, say data centers have high environmental costs as they tend to use high amounts of energy and water.
Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, other local elected officials and Greg LeVann, GYEDC’s president and CEO, have said there are no current plans coming before any local government agencies at this time. LeVann did say companies are interested in building data centers across Arizona and specifically in Yuma County because of proposed natural gas projects.
“We do have multiple projects that have had public meetings here in Yuma proposing building natural gas pipelines," he said. "Those are public... and that’s why data centers right now are very interested in Yuma County.”
LeVann said those natural gas projects would bring alternative energy sources to the area.
Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said he would recommend that any data center here would use a model that wouldn’t impact water for agricultural use.
Meeting attendees heard presentations from a representative with Arizona Public Service, or APS, and the economic development manager from the City of El Mirage in Maricopa County where they have data centers.
Public comments at the meeting were directed through a QR code.
Yuma resident Priscila Ruedas said she is concerned about the environmental impacts of data centers.
"I'm very concerned that we live in a city that's so hot with the data and the science that has already been proven that (data centers) increase temperatures," Ruedas told KAWC. "We need to prioritze the longevity of the Yuma community as a whole and a data center is not appropriate for our community."
CJ Alberts, another Yuma resident against data centers, said she was disapointed by Friday's meeting.
"This is not a forward thinking mission at all and I think it's pretty short-sighted for the longevity of our community," Alberts told KAWC. "I think there's a lot of speculation (about data centers) because there's been a lack of transparency from the city."
Earlier this past week, Yuma Mayor Nicholls, city councilmembers and city staff gathered in San Luis for a retreat. One of the topics they discussed was data centers.
Nicholls told KAWC said he’s listening to all sides at this early point in discussions about data centers in Yuma.
In a released statement, LeVann said "The Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation (GYEDC) is a 501(c)(6) Not for Profit organization supported by more than 130 private investors, along with five municipal partners. For over 25 years, GYEDC has hosted investor-focused luncheons, dinners and information-sharing events as part of the benefits provided to its members. The “GYEDC Data Center Seminar” was one of these investor programs, similar to past discussions on emerging industries and economic trends. We elected to open the investor event up to the public because the County Board of Supervisors wanted its residents to learn first hand about the data center industry and provide complete transparency.
"As a regional economic development organization, GYEDC’s role is to provide timely, factual information—including both opportunities and considerations—to support informed decision-making. This seminar was intended to provide a high-level overview of the data center industry in Arizona and share general industry insights. We hope attendees learned more about the evolving technologies and impacts data centers have on Arizona cities.
"At this time, GYEDC and its Board have not taken a position for or against data center development in the Greater Yuma region. Our focus remains on gathering and sharing relevant information and coordinating, where appropriate, with public sector partners. "
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Stay tuned to KAWC for any future updates on discussions about data centers in Yuma County.
