Beale Infrastructure (Beale) announced a major sustainability and community investment initiative for its planned data center project in Pima County’s Southeast Employment and Logistics Center (SELC), located near Tucson, Arizona.
Beale is committing to match 100% of energy use at its Pima County data center with renewable energy and to invest $15 million in Pima County to support local education, workforce development, and long-term community growth.
Beale’s commitment to pursue 100% renewable energy for its Pima County data center is a significant additional investment and reflects the company’s dedication to sustainable infrastructure development. To achieve this, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will serve the data center through an energy supply agreement and Beale will seek to accelerate the development of new renewable energy resources for TEP’s grid that produce enough energy to match 100% of the data center’s energy consumption—at the data center’s cost. While these new projects are coming online, the commitment to 100% renewable energy will be fulfilled with purchases of renewable energy credits (RECs). Achieving 100% renewable energy not only reduces the project’s lifetime carbon emissions but also supports Pima County’s Climate Action Plan and broader regional goals to pull forward the delivery of new renewable energy generation.
The community investment initiative will launch with a $5 million scholarship fund designed to support STEM education and trade school training in Pima County, positioning local students and trade professionals to thrive in high-demand technical careers. The fund aims to empower the next generation of technical talent in southern Arizona and to foster local economic opportunity through educational investments.
An additional $10 million will be allocated in future phases of the project for community benefit projects identified in collaboration with Pima County leadership. These investments will be tailored to local priorities and will provide long lasting benefits for county residents, such as digital equity investments and fiber infrastructure expansions.
Beale plans to finalize the acquisition of the Pima County property at the end of the year and subsequently begin construction, marking a significant milestone for southern Arizona investment and development.
The project's initial phase is expected to bring $3.6 billion in capital investment during its multi-year construction. It is expected to generate $152 million in tax revenue over 10 years—$58.5 million for Pima County and $93.5 million for the State of Arizona. The construction phase will create 3,000 jobs, prioritizing local union and trade labor, with 180 permanent data center campus jobs to be established by 2029. The data center will use an air-cooled design, which will consume no water for cooling. Water from an Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) approved source will be used to supply domestic needs, including bathrooms, as well as fire suppression systems.
"Beale Infrastructure’s commitments to renewable energy and additional community investments demonstrate how economic development projects benefit our community beyond the billions in capital investment and job creation the company has already pledged,” said Joe Snell, president & CEO of The Chamber of Southern Arizona. “Beale’s focus on identifying community benefits projects, such as those supporting STEM education and trade school training, will further regional efforts to strengthen the talent ecosystem in Pima County and boost our regional competitiveness.”
