Arizona State lawmaker pushes back on data center concerns

Arizona State Representative Justin Wilmeth, chair of the House Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Innovation, is actively championing legislation to accelerate the state's data center growth, amidst significant concerns from community advocates regarding massive power consumption and environmental impacts. Wilmeth revealed that Arizona Public Service (APS), the state's largest utility, is facing projected data center electricity demands of 16,000 megawatts, potentially reaching 30,000 megawatts, which vastly exceeds APS's current 8,500-megawatt peak capacity. One of Wilmeth's bills, which has passed the House, seeks to allow utilities to construct power plants adjacent to data centers with only one public hearing and without requiring state environmental approval. This legislative push comes as new research from Arizona State University indicates that data centers can increase ambient temperatures in surrounding neighborhoods. However, Wilmeth dismisses these concerns, arguing that the economic benefits, including job creation, and a national security imperative to lead in AI development outweigh the drawbacks. Addressing financial concerns, Wilmeth stated that data centers are directly covering the costs of grid upgrades, asserting this will prevent an impact on residential electricity rates. He also suggested that APS's request for a 14% rate increase, which some analysts linked to data center demand, is a negotiating tactic that APS itself doesn't expect to achieve, predicting a final increase of 6-8% unrelated to data center expansion. Beyond data centers, Wilmeth has also focused on AI-related legislation, including a successful bipartisan bill requiring chatbot operators to block sexual interactions with minors. A more contentious bill mandating AI ethics education in K-12 schools narrowly passed, facing opposition from Democratic Representative Nancy Gutierrez over concerns about unfunded mandates, which Wilmeth countered by referencing the state's substantial K-12 education budget.