Saguache County, Colorado enacts six-month data center moratorium

Saguache County, Colorado, officially adopted an emergency temporary moratorium on all data center projects within its unincorporated territory for a period of six months, effective May 5, 2026. The resolution was prompted by public outcry, with Saguache County Commissioner Liza Marron stating, "Everybody in our county is upset about data centers." The primary purpose of the moratorium is to grant the county sufficient time to develop and amend its Land Use Code, Standards, and 1041 Regulations to establish improved processes and standards for data center projects. The decision followed revelations from Eric Eriksen, CEO of San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (SLVREC), who informed commissioners that the utility had received three inquiries from rural data center developers exploring opportunities in the San Luis Valley. While Saguache Land Use Administrator Amber Wilson clarified her office had no official inquiries, the resolution's language was updated to reflect SLVREC's information. Eriksen highlighted the region's high altitude, cool air, and existing infrastructure (SLVREC and Ciello broadband) as a competitive advantage for rural data centers, differentiating them from larger, more resource-intensive hyperscale facilities. Meanwhile, Alamosa County is also discussing updates to its land use codes, with Land Use and Building Director Richard Hubler noting a lack of specific regulations for data centers. Hubler acknowledged the potential strain hyperscale centers could place on housing, energy, and water, but suggested smaller, container-based rural data centers might be a good fit for existing capacity on the SLVREC system. Eriksen emphasized that these smaller facilities, often using air-cooling, consume significantly less power and water than hyperscale centers and could utilize SLVREC's declining agricultural energy demand and the Valley's unused fiber capacity.