Largest data center proposal in Arizona heads to Cochise County. 1st community meeting scheduled
Tombstone Resources is proposing a 6-gigawatt data center and supercomputing campus on roughly 750 acres near Cochise and the Apache Generating Station in Cochise County. More than 1,000 people have signed a petition opposing the project, which will face a community meeting and a county Planning and Zoning Commission hearing in December.
Tombstone Resources LLC is seeking to develop the 6-gigawatt Cochise Supercomputer Campus near the community of Cochise and Apache Generating Station. The proposed 750-acre site would include nine data center buildings, battery storage, electrical infrastructure and natural-gas backup generators, making it one of the largest proposed data center campuses in the nation.
The project would obtain power through Arizona Electric Power Cooperative and Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, with the developer responsible for necessary grid upgrades. Tombstone estimates the campus could generate substantial tax revenue while using dry-cooling technology and limited water supplied by truck or treated wastewater. The site is near Willcox Playa, an important habitat for migratory sandhill cranes, prompting environmental review by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
More than 1,000 residents have signed a petition opposing the proposal. Tombstone plans to hold a community meeting at Cochise Elementary School, while the Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 9. County leaders adopted data center zoning standards in April covering noise, water, utility impacts, decommissioning and financial assurances.