Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Data Center Site

Power

Power and the grid

None energized or contracted yet

Supplied by the bidder (not established)None identified

100 MW

minimum new load the Air Force sets; no source chosen News report · Oct. 2026

Proposed

Getting on the grid

Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.

March 2025
Air Force asks industry about 620 acres
The notice mentions on-site generation and keeping the base running off-grid for at least 7 days (30 to 40 MW). Dataset · March 2025
Oct. 15, 2025
Bidders must bring their own power and water
The request for proposals requires applicants to supply energy and water, and gives the Air Force first right of refusal on any on-site generation. Dataset · Oct. 2025
Not set
No utility agreement
Tucson Electric Power's territory is assumed, but no service agreement exists because there is no lessee.

The nearest 345 kV substation is about 6.6 miles from the base reference point, and a gas pipeline lies about 0.3 miles away. OpenStreetMap · Oct. 2026
The base has no city water and runs its own wells; more capacity would need state water approval. News report · Oct. 2025

What is next door

Distances from mapped lines and plants. OpenStreetMap · Oct. 2026

Permits

Permits checklist

1 pending · 3 checked, nothing on file

Approvals a campus like this would need, and what we found. The land is federal, so county zoning does not apply.

◷
Lease proposals for AI data centers Pending
U.S. Air Force (AFCEC) · Nov. 14, 2025: offers closed; no selection or lease announced Dataset · Oct. 2026
–
Checked, nothing on file: Lease award, Water impact approval, Air permit

Risks

What could slow it down

High
No developer
No lessee has been selected, so there is no sponsor, financing or plan for power.
High
Size is not an Air Force figure
The 500 MW often quoted comes from an example in a 2025 notice for a different 620-acre concept; the offered parcel is 300 acres with a 100 MW minimum. News report · Oct. 2026
Medium
Power and water must be brought in
Bidders must supply their own energy and water, and the base has no city water. News report · Oct. 2026
Watch
Regional opposition
The No Desert Data Centers Coalition mobilized 350 residents at a Pima County hearing, though the federal parcel needs no county approval. News report · Oct. 2026

Money

Money on record

$500M minimum capital spending the Air Force requires (rule for bidders, not a committed investment). Dataset · Oct. 2025

Timeline

What happened, and what is due

SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming

March 2025
Paper trail Air Force issues a notice testing interest in leasing up to 620 acres for a 500 MW-plus data center Dataset · March 2025
July 23, 2025
Paper trail Executive Order 14318 sets the 100 MW and $500M threshold for qualifying federal data center projects Dataset · Oct. 2026
Oct. 15, 2025
Paper trail Air Force issues its request for lease proposals covering five bases, including a 300-acre Davis-Monthan parcel News report · Oct. 2025
Oct. 21, 2025
Site More than 350 residents attend a Pima County meeting on data centers News report · Oct. 2026
Nov. 14, 2025
Paper trail Proposals due Dataset · Oct. 2026
April 23, 2026
Paper trail Air Force runs industry day for a separate Alaska round; no five-base selections announced News report · Oct. 2026

The buildings

Specs

300 acres offered parcel; exact location on the base not published. News report · Oct. 2025

Federal lease: Enhanced use lease under federal law; county zoning does not apply Dataset · Oct. 2025
Fair market value: statutory floor for rent; the Air Force seeks money as consideration Dataset · Oct. 2025

Who is involved

Owners, partners and builders

Owners

U.S. Department of the Air Force: landowner and lessor
Air Force Civil Engineer Center: runs the lease program

Decision-makers

Air Force selection of potential lessees
Arizona Department of Water Resources: water approval, if capacity grows

Opponents

No Desert Data Centers Coalition (regional)

Still unknown

Open questions

Whether the Air Force has chosen anyone.
Where on the base the 300 acres lie.
Power source and utility.
Any capacity figure from a bidder.

Where this comes from

87 records from 16 documents

Drawn from news reports, public and commercial datasets, state agency records and securities filings, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.

News report 8Dataset 6State agency 3SEC filing 1

Evidence

Every quote behind this page

Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.

Power (28)

no service agreement exists)
“unknown (Tucson Electric Power territory)”
grade B
Nearest power line of 345 kV or more: 10.74 km
Measured on OpenStreetMap map data.
OpenStreetMap · Oct. 2026
Nearest substation of 345 kV or more: 10.57 km
Measured on OpenStreetMap map data.
OpenStreetMap · Oct. 2026
Nearest gas pipeline: 0.55 km
Measured on OpenStreetMap map data.
OpenStreetMap · Oct. 2026
Filing record: No SEC filing names a sponsor, developer, or awardee for this campus, and the Department of the Air Force has announced no EUL selection for the Davis-Monthan parcel; no Amazon fact is imported here (Amazo
“Full-text search of EDGAR for "Davis-Monthan" returned 169 documents, none naming a data-center sponsor or awardee”
SEC filing · Oct. 2026 · grade B
Eul status: No Department of the Air Force enhanced use lease award for the Davis-Monthan parcel has been announced as of Oct. 18, 2026; the campus exists only as a 300-acre parcel in the DAF's Oct. 15, 2025 data center RFP (o
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Rfp requirement: DAF RFP solicitation terms (not a campus figure): each proposed data center must involve at least $500M capital expenditure and offer more than 100 MW in capacity; the 500 MW tracker figure for this camp
“the data center must require at least $500 million in capital expenditure and offer more than 100MW in capacity”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Developer: not stated
“The Air Force has run two solicitations: (1) a five-base solicitation covering Arnold, Edwards, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Davis-Monthan, and Robins and (2) a separate Alaska solicitation”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
IT capacity: not stated
“a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load and a Project of at least $500M in capital expenditures”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Utility service: not stated
“The Air Force's request for proposals for its data centers requires all applicants to provide their own source of water and energy supply.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Stated campus size: not stated
“leasing up to 620 acres located south of the flightline at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to site a large scale data center for commercial use (e.g., 500 MW+)”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
On-site generation: not stated
“If an onsite power generation component is included in the proposal, then the DAF will require the first right of refusal to power generation.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Power plan: not established
“The Air Force's request for proposals for its data centers requires all applicants to provide their own source of water and energy supply.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Utility: not stated
“The regional utility providers in the area as part of their long-range planning, have commitments to expand capacity to accommodate increased load requirements on Davis-Monthan AFB”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Construction stage: not stated
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land for private commercial data use on five Air Force bases.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
RFI FA487725QB01 issued by Davis-Monthan's 355th Contracting Squadron to gauge industry interest in leasing up to 620 acres for a commercial data center with on-site generation and base islanding; responses due 2025-04-2
“leasing up to 620 acres located south of the flightline at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to site a large scale data center for commercial use (e.g., 500 MW+)”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
The 500 MW figure enters coverage: DCD reports the government is 'assessing interest in developing a 500MW data center' at Tucson, hardening the RFI's '(e.g., 500 MW+)' example into a project size that trackers and the
“In March 2025, DCD exclusively reported that the US government was similarly assessing interest in developing a 500MW data center on an Air Force base in Tucson, Arizona.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
RFLP AFCEC-26-R-0002 issued for five bases (Arnold, Edwards, JBMDL, Davis-Monthan, Robins); the Davis-Monthan parcel offered is 300 acres, a different parcel from the RFI concept
“a 300-acre site at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
DAF ran a separate second EUL RFLP for three Alaska bases (industry day 23 April 2026 per DCD) with Davis-Monthan among the earlier bases holding industry days, the program continues, but the five-base selections remain
“Similar industry days have previously been held for Arnold Air Force Base, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and Robins Air Force Base.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Site acres: 300 acres
“a 300-acre site at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Interconnection status: none - no grid position can exist: this campus is a Department of the Air Force land offering (RFP AFCEC-26-R-0002, a 300-acre Davis-Monthan AFB parcel, offers due Nov 14, 2025); no enhanced use l
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Name: Davis-Monthan Commercial Data Center Campus
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land for private commercial data use on five Air Force bases.”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Landowner: United States Air Force (Davis-Monthan AFB)
“to solicit proposals from qualified entities (individually an Offeror and collectively Offerors) interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Acres: 300 acres
“a 300-acre site at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Jurisdiction: Federal, DAF/AFCEC lease under 10 USC 2667; no Pima County or City of Tucson land-use jurisdiction over the on-base parcel
“allows the Government to lease real property to non-Federal entities in exchange for consideration in an amount that is not less than the fair market value of the leasehold interest”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
The Department of the Air Force published its RFP for commercial data-center leases on five Air Force bases, including a 300-acre parcel at Davis-Monthan AFB; the March 2025 RFI had referred to a different, 620-acre parc
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for "qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land for private commercial data use"”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Announced: March 24, 2025
“In a Request for Information (RFI) published on March 24 to Sam.gov, a plot of 620 acres on the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is being considered for development”
News report · March 2025 · grade C
Announced: March 2025
“The Government is exploring industry interest in leasing up to 620 acres at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base”
Dataset · March 2025 · grade C

Money and contracts (19)

Tenant status: none - no lease awarded; no developer or tenant exists for this campus
“none (no EUL award announced); tenants: none found”
grade B
Tenant status: none - no lease awarded; no developer or tenant exists for this campus
“none (no EUL award announced); tenants: none found”
grade B
Tenants: not stated
“The Air Force has run two solicitations: (1) a five-base solicitation covering Arnold, Edwards, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Davis-Monthan, and Robins and (2) a separate Alaska solicitation”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Tenant status: not stated
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land for private commercial data use on five Air Force bases.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): term (as reported) 50 years
“Lease terms can extend up to 50 years, unless the government determines a longer term serves the national interest.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
finding: no executed agreement: termination/cancellation (finding)
“A Potential Lessee(s) may not actually become a Lessee if lease negotiations are not successful.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Stated capital cost: not stated
“a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load and a Project of at least $500M in capital expenditures”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): eligibility threshold (new load) 100 MW
“a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load and a Project of at least $500M in capital expenditures”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): eligibility threshold (capital expenditure) 500000000 USD
“which includes facilities requiring over 100 megawatts (MW) of new load and a minimum of $500 million in capital expenditures”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): consideration
“As consideration for leasing its parcels to developers selected under this RFLP, DAF is seeking monetary consideration for the AI data center.”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): fair market value floor (statutory)
“allows the Government to lease real property to non-Federal entities in exchange for consideration in an amount that is not less than the fair market value of the leasehold interest”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): government purchase option, no obligation
“The Government may purchase AI Data Center services and power from the Project(s) but is under no obligation to do so.”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): first right of refusal (on-site generation)
“If an onsite power generation component is included in the proposal, then the DAF will require the first right of refusal to power generation.”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFLP): selection process, selection is not a lease
“the Government will evaluate all proposals received to select one or more Offerors as potential lessee(s) with whom to enter into lease negotiations”
Dataset · Oct. 2025 · grade C
The campus exists only as a federal land offering: on Oct 15, 2025 the Department of the Air Force published RFP AFCEC-26-R-0002 seeking qualified entities to lease underutilized parcels, including a 300-acre site at Dav
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for “qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land for private commercial data use””
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFI): scope
“The Government is exploring industry interest in leasing up to 620 acres at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base”
Dataset · March 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFI): consideration (contemplated structure)
“At this time the Government is contemplating this transaction as a cash neutral lease (10 USC 2667)”
Dataset · March 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFI): no-obligation (not a solicitation)
“No basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI.”
Dataset · March 2025 · grade C
solicitation (RFI): in-kind consideration sought (base islanding) 30-40 MW
“Any technology solution provided as a response to this RFI should configure the system to support Davis-Monthan's ability to operate independently from the utility grid for an extended period of time (i.e., at least 7 days, 30-40 MW)”
Dataset · March 2025 · grade C

Permits and government (8)

federal lease solicitation (RFLP): proposals due, no award announced
“Responses are due no later than 5:00 PM Central Time on 14 November 2025.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade B
federal lease solicitation (RFI): issued
“leasing up to 620 acres located south of the flightline at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to site a large scale data center for commercial use (e.g., 500 MW+)”
Dataset · March 2025 · grade B
state water approval (ADWR): none, future trigger only
“If the base were to increase its capacity, it must receive approval for new impact studies by the Arizona Department of Water Resources.”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
EO 14179 (Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence) and EO 13327 frame the federal-lands data-center push the RFLP implements
“These Projects are in accordance with Executive Order 14179: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence dated 23 January 2025”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
EO 14318 (Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure) defines the Qualifying Project the RFLP applies: >100 MW of new load and at least $500M capex
“a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load and a Project of at least $500M in capital expenditures”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
More than 350 residents attend a Pima County Board of Supervisors data-center meeting (No Desert Data Centers Coalition statement), regional opposition climate for any Tucson-area project, though the federal parcel itse
“In a statement to the Star, the group No Desert Data Centers Coalition noted that on Oct. 21, more than 350 local residents attended a Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting”
News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Opposition: Regional opposition organized (No Desert Data Centers Coalition); Pima County data-center politics frame reception of any Tucson-area proposal
“In a statement to the Star, the group No Desert Data Centers Coalition noted that on Oct. 21, more than 350 local residents attended a Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
federal lease solicitation (RFLP): issued
“a 300-acre site at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C

Site and other (7)

Solicitation status: proposals closed Nov. 14, 2025; no selection announced
“Responses are due no later than 5:00 PM Central Time on 14 November 2025.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Stage: announced only
“A Potential Lessee(s) may not actually become a Lessee if lease negotiations are not successful.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Original target date: not stated
“Responses are due no later than 5:00 PM Central Time on 14 November 2025.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Current target date: not stated
“Responses are due no later than 5:00 PM Central Time on 14 November 2025.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
RFLP responses due 5:00 PM CT. Contemporaneous press expected potential-lessee selections around January 2026; as of Oct. 18, 2026 none has been announced for any of the five bases
“Responses are due no later than 5:00 PM Central Time on 14 November 2025.”
Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Construction stage: none - solicitation stage only: RFI Mar 2025, RFP issued Oct 15, 2025 with offers due Nov 14, 2025; no EUL award announced as of Oct 2026 and no developer exists yet
“On October 15, the DAF published a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for “qualified entities interested in leasing from the Government one or more underutilized parcels of land”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Water use stated: not stated
“Currently, the City of Tucson does not provide the base with any potable or reclaimed water. The base operates its own wells.”
News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C