Community Editorial Board: Boulder County’s moratorium on data and detention centers
Boulder County Commissioners have enacted a six-month moratorium on data and detention center applications to allow for a facilities review. Concerns include the high water and electricity consumption of data centers, their noise, and potential impact on air and water quality. One editorial board member questions lumping data centers with detention centers, while another supports the pause to establish regulations.
The Boulder County Commissioners unanimously voted to enact a six-month moratorium on applications for data and detention centers to allow for a comprehensive review of their impact on the county.
Several community editorial board members weighed in on the decision. One writer highlighted the significant environmental impact of data centers, noting their substantial water and electricity demands, noise, and potential to compromise air and water quality, especially in drought-ridden Colorado. The piece also raised concerns about data centers being disproportionately built in low-income and minority communities. Another viewpoint questioned the rationale of grouping data centers with detention centers under the same moratorium, arguing that data centers are essential to modern life, unlike detention centers, which Boulder opposes due to its sanctuary city status. This writer suggested that instead of a ban, Boulder could work with the state and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require large consumers of power and water to provide their own resources or pay for grid updates, citing Kyndryl's data center in the county as an example of partial solar power integration.
Despite no current pending applications for data centers, the moratorium is seen as a proactive measure to establish regulations before any new applications arise. While Colorado currently has fewer data centers compared to states like Virginia or Texas, the long-term need for these essential utilities is acknowledged, prompting the county to consider where they will be located and under what conditions.