Construction begins on new data center in Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. (CNN, KYMA) - Construction is now underway on a major data center project near Tucson, but not without pushback from the community.

Protesters continue to raise concerns over water use, energy costs and its impact on the area.

Before arriving to the Pima County Fair over the weekend, residents had to pass by the commotion happening on the side of the road.

They're the very same people seated at City Council meetings and public hearings over the past year saying the same thing about data centers.

"They're terrible for the community, they push energy bills up, they drain water, if not on-sight, then in someone else's community, and they're just not right and they don't do anything," said Vivek Bharathan with the No Desert Data Center Coalition.

Back in August of last year, the city had voted to stop all work on Project Blue, a move they had thought was the end of the fight.

"Then, TEP and Beale came up with a new deal, went to the state, we showed up at the ACC and we said no. They voted it through," Bharathan shared.

"It made it seem kind of like we were duped. We've just been doing everything we can and now it's come here to the construction site," said Laura Blair also with the No Desert Data Center Coaltion.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors had approved of the land sale of the 290-acres in June that gave the county almost $21 million.

The campus is expected to be ten buildings operated by 180 people, and should be running by 2028, unless the protesters have anything to do about it.

"We just have to be here and we have to be putting up our fight," Blair expressed.