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SpaceX Data Center Campus (Cochise County)

SpaceX says it is the owner of a proposed AI supercomputer campus on about 747 acres next to Apache Generating Station at Cochise, Arizona. Up to nine buildings would draw about 6 GW at full build-out. The application, filed by Tombstone Resources LLC, goes to a county hearing on December 9, 2026.

Proposed data center in U.S. Highway 191 at Cochise, next to Apache Generating Station. Being developed by SpaceX.

Where it stands

Cochise County is reviewing the campus's Special Use Authorization request, docket SU26-22. The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold its public hearing on December 9, 2026, at 2 p.m. in Bisbee, and its decision is final unless appealed to the Board of Supervisors. The electric cooperative that would serve the campus says no final electric service agreement has been reached.

The short version

What SpaceX is proposing

  • About 747 acres on two properties along U.S. Highway 191 at Cochise, next to Apache Generating Station. The application describes about 400 acres owned by Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) and about 348 acres owned by Southline Transmission.
  • Up to nine single-story computing buildings in four phases, each about 1,900 by 260 feet and about 493,000 square feet, or about 4.4 million square feet in all.
  • A 24 GWh battery storage installation, substation and transformer yards, and natural-gas standby generators for critical services only.
  • Owner-operated computing for AI model training and inference, primarily for the applicant and its affiliates.
  • The land is zoned RU-4 (rural). In Cochise County a data center needs a Special Use Authorization; it cannot be approved through a building permit alone.

Is SpaceX behind it?

  • Yes, by its own account. The county application was filed by Tombstone Resources LLC, and a November 4 statement on Tombstone Resources letterhead said SpaceX would host that evening's community town hall.
  • At the town hall, Riley Trettel, who leads energy and supercomputer development at SpaceX, said SpaceX is the owner and, if the county approves, will build and own the project long term.
  • He put the investment at up to $50 billion. That is the company's own estimate, not a published budget.
  • The application says Tombstone Resources is under contract to buy the AEPCO land and has an agreement with Southline Transmission for the rest. County tax records still list AEPCO or Southline on 24 of the 31 parcels, a family trust on six and the state highway department on one.

How much power would it use?

  • About 6,000 MW (6 GW) of electric demand at full build-out, all from the grid through Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) and its wholesale supplier AEPCO. The first phase would be about 1,500 MW.
  • This is the applicant's estimate of demand, not power already secured. SSVEC said on November 5 that no final electric service agreement had been reached, and any agreement needs Arizona Corporation Commission approval.
  • The applicant says it would pay for about $3.6 billion of transmission and substation improvements and targets March 2027 for initial electric service for construction.
  • The application says the arrangement is designed to cut SSVEC members' bills by about 10% to 40% and give $13 million to $53 million a year to the SSVEC Foundation. SSVEC says none of these benefits is guaranteed.
  • The concept drawings label the two properties 3,500 MW and 2,800 MW (6,300 MW together), while the rest of the application says about 6,000 MW.

How much water would it use?

  • The campus would be dry-cooled: closed liquid loops and fan-cooled dry coolers, with no cooling towers or evaporative spray in normal operation.
  • The applicant estimates about 7 to 10 acre-feet a year at full build-out, mostly for the operating staff, plus a one-time fill of each building's cooling loops, about 3 to 6 million gallons across the campus.
  • Non-potable water would come from treated Apache Generating Station wastewater, with trucked water as a backup. No new Willcox AMA production well is proposed.
  • The site is near the Willcox Playa, a wintering area for sandhill cranes. The application lists measures such as no open water, bird-safe glass and shielded lighting.

Jobs and taxes, as the applicant estimates them

  • About 5,500 construction workers at peak, and about 1,000 permanent jobs at full build-out, including on-site contractors.
  • $34 million to $103 million a year in new county property tax revenue, plus a one-time county sales tax benefit of about $250 million.

Meetings and how to comment

  • November 12, 2026, 1 p.m.: the county Local Emergency Planning Committee holds a special public meeting on the proposal. Its role is advisory.
  • November 27, 2026, noon: deadline for written comments to be included in the hearing packet, through the county's Public Hearing comment form on its [Data Centers page](https://www.cochise.az.gov/1014/Data-Centers).
  • December 9, 2026, 2 p.m.: Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing, Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 1415 Melody Lane, Building G, Bisbee, and online. Speakers get two minutes each unless the chair directs otherwise.
  • The Commission's decision is final unless appealed to the Board of Supervisors. If the campus is approved, building permits would follow phase by phase.

Where it is

Aerial photo of desert and farmland around Apache Generating Station in Cochise County, with the 31 SU26-22 case parcels outlined in yellow
Aerial photo flown 2023: USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP); source: USGS, USDA, The National Map: Orthoimagery (public domain). Outline drawn by Arizona AI from Cochise County GIS parcel records.

Outlined in yellow: the 31 tax parcels in county case SU26-22 (two only in part). It shows the land, not where buildings would go. Parcels: Cochise County, Legal Notice SU26-22: US Hwy 191 Data Center Campus. Shapes: Cochise County GIS (read November 11, 2026).

Open in Google Maps

  • Expected power demand at full build-out: 6.0 GW
  • Floor area: 4.4M sq ft
  • Land: 747 acres

Capacity: Figure from an official record: expected electricity demand, at full build-out. Applicant estimate in the county application: peak electric demand at full build-out, not secured service or operating computing load.

Timeline

  1. : Applicant dates its letter notifying neighbors of the proposed special use. Source: Tombstone Resources L.L.C., October 16 notice of proposed special use
  2. : Cochise County receives special use application SU26-22. Source: Cochise County, Cochise County announces special use application
  3. : SpaceX says it owns the project at its community town hall. Source: Baxtel, SpaceX Confirms 6GW AI Data Center Campus Plan for Cochise County
  4. : SSVEC says no final electric service agreement has been reached. Source: Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, SSVEC Outlines Its Role, Member Protections in Proposed Data Center Talks
  5. : County emergency planning committee holds a special meeting on the proposal. Source: Cochise County, Data Centers: SU26-22 application and public process
  6. : Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing at 2 p.m.. Source: Cochise County, Legal Notice SU26-22: US Hwy 191 Data Center Campus

In their words

Data Centers are not permitted by right and cannot be approved through a building permit alone.

SpaceX is the owner, and with approval, will be the builder and the owner of the project long term.

If this development moves forward, we want to ensure that our members are protected and that any benefits to them are real.

Working here

Per-facility headcount is not published here: no reliable public figures exist for these sites, and construction announcements are not permanent employment. SpaceX is developing this site rather than operating it, so any long-term operator has not been established here.

News

Stories in Arizona AI's news feed that name this facility, newest first.

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How we know this

Compiled from public records and checked on 2026-11-11. Confidence in this record: high. Blank figures mean the number is not publicly established, not that it is zero.

Each statement on this page is listed with the page it came from and the words that say it. Sources open in a new tab. Where a source is listed without a quote, none was recorded.