Arizona AG hosts community conversation on data centers, calls for moratorium
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes held a town hall in Mesa where residents raised concerns about data centers' effects on water supplies, electricity costs, pollution and neighborhood quality of life. Mayes reiterated support for a statewide pause on data center approvals and urged state lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs to consider a moratorium, while Ahwatukee residents specifically opposed a Menlo Digital project under construction.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes hosted a community meeting in Mesa after calling for a statewide pause on data center approvals. Residents and state legislators questioned the impact of planned facilities on Arizona's water resources, electricity costs, utility infrastructure and neighborhoods. Mayes said the state has 110 active data centers, with 10 under construction and 40 in planning, and warned that planned facilities could consume more power than existing centers combined.
Much of the discussion focused on a Menlo Digital data center under construction in Ahwatukee, where nearby residents cited late-night construction noise and potential pollution. Attorney Anthony Ramirez also asked Mayes' office to assist with an ethics complaint involving Phoenix City Councilman Kevin Robinson and the project. Mayes encouraged residents to submit evidence and said she would hold a future meeting in Ahwatukee.
Mayes said she had urged the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Katie Hobbs to use their authority to establish a moratorium, while also pressing the Arizona Corporation Commission and utilities to scrutinize the costs and impacts of large data center loads. The event also occurred as Mayes announced a separate lawsuit against OpenAI over alleged violations of Arizona consumer-protection law, but that case concerns ChatGPT rather than a data center project.