Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
Vantage Data Centers plans to build Colorado's largest data center in Aurora, near residential areas, without requiring a public hearing due to its location in an industrial zone. This proposal faces significant community opposition over environmental and energy concerns, mirroring broader statewide and national debates on data center regulation and moratoriums. While Denver and other Colorado municipalities have enacted moratoriums, Aurora's City Council recently rejected one, instead opting to develop new regulations for water use and buffer zones.
Vantage Data Centers has filed plans for the Trident Data Center, slated to become Colorado's largest, in Aurora. The proposed 861,866-square-foot campus, designed for 500 megawatts of total electrical demand, would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport. Despite its proximity to a half-built residential area and location in a census block disproportionately impacted by pollution, the project is not subject to public hearings because data centers are a permitted use in its industrial zone, allowing for administrative approval.
The lack of public input has ignited significant community opposition, with residents expressing concerns about emissions from the proposed 28 emergency diesel backup generators, strain on the power grid, and water usage. State officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Air Pollution Control Division have urged Vantage to hold community meetings before applying for construction permits. This situation reflects a broader trend in Colorado, where other data center developments, such as a CoreSite facility in Denver's highly polluted Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods, were also approved without public hearings, leading to increased calls for regulation.
In response to public pressure, the Denver City Council instituted a year-long moratorium on data center developments, and other municipalities across Colorado have followed suit. However, in Aurora, City Councilmember Amy Wiles's proposal for a six-month moratorium was voted down. Instead, the council passed a resolution tasking the city manager with developing measures to regulate water use and establish buffer zones for data centers, including a ban on high-water-consumption cooling technologies. The article also highlights an ongoing statewide debate on whether data centers should cover grid upgrade costs and use renewable energy, with citizens advocating for stronger requirements at a Public Utilities Commission hearing.