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Commerce City Weighs Six-Month Pause on Data Center Development
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Commerce City Weighs Six-Month Pause on Data Center Development

By Alex Dowd | Denver7 COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Commerce City leaders are deciding Monday night if the city should hit pause on data center development. At their regularly scheduled meeting, city council will consider a six-month moratorium on approving data center development plans or zoning applications. Council communications say the city’s land development code doesn’t address some of the “unique characteristics of data center facilities.” The draft ordinance says data centers can have significant impacts on city infrastructure like power and water supply, neighborhood character and surrounding land use. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans Leads Bipartisan Push to Protect Ratepayers From Data Center Costs
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Politico, Approved, National

Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans Leads Bipartisan Push to Protect Ratepayers From Data Center Costs

By Nico Portuondo and Amelia Davidson | POLITICO The vote gives House Republicans a bipartisan win on an issue that has become increasingly politically fraught ahead of the midterm elections. House lawmakers on Wednesday easily passed the first major legislative action to address the costs of the AI boom, a bill intended to shield Americans from potential energy costs associated with data centers. The Ratepayer Protection Act, which has become the House GOP’s signature legislation to address the costs of the data center build-out ahead of the midterm elections, was passed in a broad bipartisan vote of 417-3. “Large load data centers must cover the full costs of any system updates they require, not families or small businesses. We cannot accelerate this gr...
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Weld County Gives Green Light to Colorado’s Largest Data Center Near Windsor
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Weld County Gives Green Light to Colorado’s Largest Data Center Near Windsor

By Peter Choi | Denver7 The 41-acre project could become Colorado's largest data center, but community members raised concerns about water, noise, the power grid, and outreach. GREELEY, Colo. — The Weld County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve a proposed data center that could become the largest in Colorado. The roughly 41-acre data center is planned for the former Carestream Health site in an unincorporated area of Weld County near Windsor. The New York-based company Global AI is proposing the project. During a public hearing on Wednesday, commissioners heard from the company and community members who raised concerns about the project's potential impacts, including water use, noise, the power grid, and the company's outreach to nearby resi...
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Colorado’s Renewable Energy Milestone Looks Different When Coal Outages Are Counted
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Independence Institute, Approved, State

Colorado’s Renewable Energy Milestone Looks Different When Coal Outages Are Counted

By Sarah Montalbano | Independence Institute On July 9, 2026, I wrote an article for the Independence Institute breaking down the math behind Colorado’s renewable energy milestone in Q1 2026 and explaining why it is largely driven by the Comanche 3 coal outage, rather than a surge in wind and solar generation. For Coloradans, it’s worth checking if milestones like these are real, because figures like these are cited as proof that the state can shed its remaining coal and natural gas without consequences for reliability and affordability. The article’s main point, which was supported with EIA generation data, was that Colorado produced less in-state electricity in Q1 2026, and therefore the share of electricity generated by wind and solar looked larger beca...
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Xcel Urges Coloradans To Shift Power Use During Summer Peak Hours
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Xcel Urges Coloradans To Shift Power Use During Summer Peak Hours

By: Ethan Carlson | Denver7 Xcel Energy's "Energy Action Days" ask customers to reduce usage between 4 and 8 p.m. on hot days, but some customers say the timing is inconvenient. DENVER – Xcel Energy customers in Colorado may have noticed text messages recently asking them to reduce their energy use during certain hours of the day. The utility calls these "Energy Action Days" - requests for customers to cut back on energy consumption between 4 and 8 p.m. when temperatures climb above 90 degrees, along with a variety of other grid conditions. Customers who do not reduce their usage during those hours will pay more for their energy, as part of Xcel’s Time of Use pricing policy. Andrew Holder, Xcel Energy Colorado's director of community relations, ...
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Longmont Approves Data Center Restrictions to Safeguard Power and Water
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Longmont Approves Data Center Restrictions to Safeguard Power and Water

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Longmont City Council voted 6–1 Tuesday night to ban hyperscale data centers, capping facilities at 5% of regional grid capacity or 100 megawatts, whichever is lower. LONGMONT, Colo. — Longmont is drawing a line against hyperscale data centers, passing an ordinance Tuesday night that sets limits on facility energy consumption to protect the city's power grid, water supply, and neighborhoods from impacts seen elsewhere across the country. In a 6-1 vote, Longmont City Council passed a city ordinance capping data center energy usage at either 5% of the region's grid capacity or 100 megawatts, whichever is lower. City staff said 100 megawatts is enough to power between 10,000 to 30,000 homes on a hot summer day. Longmont joins a growing ...
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Colorado Consumers Push Back Against Xcel Rate Hike Proposal
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CPR News, Approved, State

Colorado Consumers Push Back Against Xcel Rate Hike Proposal

By: Ishan Thakore | CPR News Xcel Energy’s proposed deal to raise average residential energy bills by nearly 6% is running into a wall of opposition from Colorado consumer and environmental groups.  The proposed residential rate increase would be among the largest ever in the state, according to the Colorado Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate (UCA), which advocates for customers and is opposed to the deal. In November, the state’s largest utility petitioned state regulators at the Public Utilities Commission to let it increase how much it charges for electricity. Xcel hadn’t requested a major price hike to its customer base rates since 2022. Last year, the company said it needed to recoup around $356 million it spent to build new renewab...
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Northern Colorado Leaders Warn Power Shortage Could Slow Growth
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Northern Colorado Leaders Warn Power Shortage Could Slow Growth

By: Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado Rapid growth across parts of Northern Colorado is colliding with a growing challenge — being able to access enough electricity to support new homes and businesses. Local leaders in Greeley say demand for power has increased significantly in recent decades. This is as technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, and it creates pressure on an electric grid that is struggling to keep pace with population growth and development. "We are growing pretty rapidly," said Don Threewitt, interim community and economic developer for the city of Greeley. Threewitt said the state's electric demand has shifted dramatically in the last decade, as residents rely more heavily on technology. From smartphones and electric vehicles to incre...
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Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The ruling was based on a statute used just 3 times in 21 years allowing regulators to override local land use decisions on electric and gas infrastructure projects. State utility regulators have overruled local land use decisions and cleared the way for Xcel Energy to build its $1.7 billion Power Pathway transmission line through Elbert County. The line will bring Eastern Plains wind and solar to the Front Range. The Elbert County Commission voted in June 2025 to deny Xcel Energy two key permits responding to protests by landowners and ranchers and an unwillingness by the utility to reroute the path, which cut through the heart of the county. The county commission and many landowners sought to have the route moved fa...
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Colorado Faces Summer Power Crunch As Comanche Power Plant Repairs Are Delayed Again
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Summer Power Crunch As Comanche Power Plant Repairs Are Delayed Again

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Xcel Energy has until April 15 to present a plan for dealing with the projected electricity shortfall during the hottest days of summer. elays in getting Xcel Energy’s damaged Comanche 3 coal-fired power plant back online may create a shortfall in electricity this summer, requiring customers to cut back on use during heat waves and other peak periods. Concerned about the potential gap between electricity generation and demand, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission this week ordered Xcel Energy to file a plan by April 15 to deal with the looming deficit. Xcel Energy had projected a manageable 77-megawatt deficit in capacity for this summer, but when Comanche 3’s return to operation was pushed from June to Augus...
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