CASA GRANDE — The city of Casa Grande has approved a 954-acre data center campus, even as unincorporated Pinal County has been rejecting large data center and power plant proposals, KTAR News reported in partnership with the Phoenix Business Journal.
Last week, the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission again voted down a gas-fired power plant with battery storage, even after the developer cut its proposed capacity in half, from 500 to 250 megawatts.
In August, the county board rejected Vermaland’s La Osa Energy Center, which had been pitched as the largest data center campus in Arizona, despite the developer offering to shrink it from as many as 59 buildings to 11.
The contrast shows how some cities in the fast-growing county south of metro Phoenix are more willing to approve such projects. Data centers have become a hot-button issue in Arizona, with residents raising concerns about water, power demand and land use.
Sources: KTAR News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
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