Deep-dive research on the forces shaping data center infrastructure, energy systems, AI, and the Arizona market and beyond.
These articles are written by Russ Dailey, a plain-English reference for people who live near a data center or are about to. Every claim links to its source.
They are the author's analysis, published to inform the conversation. AZDCA does not take positions on individual projects, and nothing here should be read as the Alliance endorsing or opposing a specific proposal, applicant, or vote.
I work in the data center industry and I have spent years explaining it to people who do not, usually at kitchen tables and council meetings rather than conferences. These articles started because the questions I get asked most often, about water, power bills, noise, jobs and property values, almost never get answered with a number and a source.
I pick the topics, set the argument, and check every factual claim before it publishes. AI helps me draft, and I say so plainly rather than quietly passing the work off as something else. What the model does not do is decide what is true. Claims that could not be tied to a primary source got cut or corrected, which is why each article ends with its sources and why a few carry an open note where an earlier figure did not hold up.
If a number looks wrong, tell me and I will correct it and say so. Read the full sourcing standard.
Found a number that looks off, want a source we did not cite, or have a topic you think we should cover? Send it over. Real questions get real answers.