Glendale-area data center and gas plant raise air pollution concerns
Takanock and Montera Infrastructure are developing a data center and a 744-megawatt natural gas power plant near Glendale and Surprise. Residents and environmental experts are concerned about added air pollution in the Phoenix area, while Maricopa County regulators are deciding whether the facilities should be treated as one emissions source or two.
Takanock is developing Project Baccara, a 744-megawatt natural gas power plant, alongside Montera Infrastructure’s Project Eagle data center on land near Glendale and Surprise. The power plant is intended to provide electricity for the data center and eventually sell power to the local grid, offering an alternative to relying solely on Arizona’s strained electrical system. Construction is expected to begin later this year.
The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has tentatively treated the facilities as a single emissions source because the power plant would initially exist largely to serve the data center, but no final determination has been made. A consultant working for the developers has asked the county to classify them separately, which could provide separate emissions limits. Residents and experts, including Arizona State University professor Joshua Uebelherr and Earthjustice’s Mandy DeRoche, warn that combined emissions could worsen health risks in an area already designated as an ozone nonattainment zone.
Glendale annexed the site after City Council consideration, despite opposition from residents and concerns raised by Councilmember Lupe Conchas about air quality, energy and water use. The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Line Siting Committee later recommended approval of the power plant’s environmental certificate by an 8-1 vote, while dissenting member Margaret Little said the location was inappropriate because of its proximity to populated areas.