Beale Infrastructure, owner of the planned Project Blue data center development, has pledged to match its data center’s energy use with renewable energy. The company made the promise in a letter attached to a memo to Pima County administrators.
Beale said it is seeking an energy supply agreement with Tucson Electric Power and plans, at the developer’s expense, to accelerate the development of renewable energy for the TEP grid that will equal a 100% match to the data center’s power consumption.
Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said there has been no mutual agreement reached regarding specific details, such as how the clean energy generation would be developed or paid for, a time frame, a specific cost or a third-party validation of the plan.
Beale has also pledged to invest $15M for education, community growth and workforce development in Pima County, starting with a $5M scholarship fund for trade school training and STEM education. That investment would be followed by $10M for projects that will be jointly identified with County leaders.
In a memo to the Board of Supervisors, Lesher explained the commitments came about because of meetings between Beale and County representatives. She stressed there is no specific agreement in place, and an instrument would need to be created with enforcement and compliance details.
The County agreed to sell the planned development site to Beale earlier this year. Despite several matters that still need to be resolved between Beale and Pima County, the company has said it plans to finalize the acquisition and hopes to begin construction by the end of the year. (Source)
