Legislation Introduced to Ensure Common-Sense Guardrails on Data Centers in Colorado 

Denver, CO —

Senator Cathy Kipp and Representative Kyle Brown today introduced a bill that would ensure common-sense guardrails for data center development in Colorado. The bill, SB 26-102 Measures to Ensure Accountability for Large-Load Data Centers, would protect ratepayers by requiring that data centers pay the full costs of electricity and grid investments to meet their significant energy requirements; ensure that data centers obtain their power from renewable energy sources; optimize water efficiency and report water usage transparently; and require public engagement and protections for disproportionately impacted communities.

Colorado communities have expressed strong concerns about data centers’ impacts on utility bills, public health, and the environment as tech companies increase their presence in the state. The bill introduced by Senator Kipp and Representative Brown today aims to ensure the state continues to meet its climate targets by helping to prevent the need for new gas plants and delayed coal plant retirements. As energy bills continue to rise, the bill seeks to ensure that the cost of data center development in Colorado is not passed along to residents and small businesses. It would also develop reporting requirements for data center companies to ensure communities are aware of the impacts of new data centers and have the opportunity to provide input on new projects before they start.

The community protection bill introduced today stands in stark contrast to a ‘data center handout’ bill that was introduced in January, which would provide a 100% state sales and use tax exemption for data center companies for 20 years or more, forgoing substantial revenue at a time of severe state budget constraints.

“For frontline communities, meaningful public engagement and protections are consistently treated as an afterthought in industrial development. Companies move in with little to no community involvement, forcing residents to constantly play catch up to understand the processes that directly impact their health, environment, and livelihoods: we are tired of a status quo where we are excluded from the start,” said Guadalupe Solís, director of public health and advocacy at Cultivando. “It is not unreasonable to ask for a new approach that makes it necessary to respect our communities and require basic due diligence and a seat at the table. This is the only way to ensure accurate and protective guardrails are in place.”

“Frontline communities like ours have faced disproportionate impacts from redlining, highways, and heavy industry next to our working-class homes, creating a cumulative burden that we live with every day,” said Robin Reichhardt, director of organizing with GES Coalition and longtime Elyria-Swansea resident. “Requiring data centers to be regulated and providing protections for disproportionately impacted communities like Elyria-Swansea is not radical; it is the bare minimum for public-interest standards.”

“I want to remind our legislators that disproportionately impacted communities are the result of harmful policies that have put industry in the heart of our neighborhoods for generations, creating deadly pollution that negatively impacts our land, air, water and quality of life,” said Renée M Chacon, co-founder of Womxn from the Mountain and Environmental Justice Action Taskforce member. “Our communities refuse to be targeted again, including by data centers that want to set up near our most vulnerable populations before any analysis to our health and safety.”

“Ratepayers and disproportionately impacted communities need protections from potential harms to our air, water, land, and health from unregulated data centers,” said Jamie Valdez, Colorado transportation and energy advocate with GreenLatinos. “Several states that fell for the data center hype are now experiencing ‘buyer’s remorse’ regarding the generous tax breaks they provided to the data center industry and are now rethinking or repealing these incentives as they grapple with strained power grids, rising electric bills, and billions in lost tax revenue. Big tech companies and their data centers need Colorado’s strong workforce, clean air and water, and open spaces a lot more than Colorado needs them.”

“Our communities need mindful solutions that deliver on clean air, clean water, and community resiliency in this time of climate crisis,” said Harmony Cummings, director of the Green House Connection Center that’s two blocks from the new Coresite data center in one of the most polluted zip codes in the country. “We need transparency, community engagement, and strong protections to ensure that Coloradans and our water are not negatively impacted by large data center development.”

“This legislation ensures that if large data centers are going to set up shop in Colorado, that they do so on our terms,” said Megan Kemp, Colorado legislative representative with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “We have already seen the impacts of unchecked data center development in other states – higher utility bills, depleted water resources, and increased reliance on fossil fuels. Colorado can lead on responsible data center development by establishing common-sense guardrails to protect Coloradans’ health and the environment.”