Colorado communities enact, propose data center moratoriums and regulations
Several northern Colorado communities are enacting or proposing new regulations, bans, or moratoriums on data centers due to concerns about electricity, water, and other impacts. While some areas are pausing development, Weld County approved a specific data center project.
Across northern Colorado, numerous communities are taking action to regulate or restrict the development of energy- and water-intensive data centers, driven by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Longmont City Council banned "hyperscale" data centers in June, defining them as facilities with a projected electrical demand of 70 megawatts or more, to prevent the largest facilities from locating in the city. Boulder County commissioners enacted a six-month moratorium on data center applications in June to allow time for code changes that could prohibit them in industrial areas, though the city of Boulder has not adopted similar measures.
In July, Broomfield City Council passed an 18-month moratorium on new data centers, citing concerns about demands on power, water, and local infrastructure. Mead Board of Trustees also established a 12-month moratorium in August. Loveland City Council imposed a one-year moratorium in September on large-scale data centers (10 megawatts or more) while it develops regulations, despite inquiries from one company.
Other communities are in earlier stages of consideration: Lafayette City Council is moving towards an 18-month moratorium, Dacono has delayed a vote on a proposed one-year moratorium, and Berthoud Board of Trustees is scheduled to consider a six-month pause. Larimer County commissioners extended an existing moratorium through February 2027, with 94% of public survey respondents opposing data centers in unincorporated areas. Conversely, Greeley City Council set plans for a large data center annexation, and Weld County commissioners unanimously approved Global AI LLC's application to operate a data center near Windsor through a special review process, despite local residents raising concerns about noise, air quality, and resource use.