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The Vote

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors considers the Military Compatibility Permit for Project Baccara.

205 W Jefferson Street, Phoenix. Board of Supervisors Auditorium.

This is the final approval required for the project to proceed. The Arizona Corporation Commission approved the environmental certificate 5-0 in February 2026. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7-0 on April 9. The five-member Board of Supervisors is the only remaining check, and its members are elected and directly accountable to voters.

This is also the same Board that unanimously denied the $3.2 billion BNSF logistics project near Surprise in November 2025.

Five Findings

Each of the findings below is documented in a permit file, a government letter, a peer-reviewed study, or the developer's own press release. Each links to a full analysis on this site.

1
Luke Air Force Base

On March 13, 2026, the Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing sent a letter to Maricopa County finding Project Baccara "not compatible" with base operations unless nine sets of conditions are met. The letter was entered into the P&Z hearing record.

Download the letter (3 pages) →
2
Air Quality

The draft permit caps NOx emissions at 89.9 tons per year, 10.1 tons below the 100-ton major source threshold. Propane use above roughly 20 percent of operations, allowed under the permit, pushes total NOx above the trigger.

Read the permit analysis →
3
Noise

The developer-commissioned noise study models only continuous full-load operation, not startup or shutdown events. The air permit authorizes 3,600 startup and shutdown events per year at any hour. Every methodological choice in the study moves the result in the same direction: quieter.

Read the noise analysis →
4
Heat and Utility Bills

No thermal impact study exists. Each turbine exhausts at 850 degrees Fahrenheit continuously. APS's own rate filing says data center load growth is driving residential rate increases. Takanock told media the project will lower bills.

Read the heat and bills analysis →
5
The Business Model

Takanock's press release describes the turbines as "prime power until" a future substation, then a "wholesale grid resource." The ACC approved the project on the basis it would not burden ratepayers. The published plan describes a different outcome.

Read the business model analysis →

For Your Email to the Board

Written comments reach the Board of Supervisors at agenda.comments@maricopa.gov. A single sentence, copied and pasted into the body of the email, is enough to be counted.

One-line email

"The Commander of Luke Air Force Base has determined that Project Baccara is not compatible with base operations, and I ask the Board to deny the Military Compatibility Permit on May 6."

Three Things You Can Do

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Use #StopBaccara on all platforms

For the longer briefing with the basics, the research findings in full, and deeper sourcing, see What You Need to Know About Project Baccara. For the full fact-check of the developer's claims, see In Their Own Words.