Boulder County effectively bans large data centers
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Boulder County is effectively shutting the door on large data centers in unincorporated areas, adopting some of the strictest limits in the U.S.
Why it matters: Boulder County is taking a hard line against energy-hungry data centers as the AI boom drives demand.
Driving the news: Commissioners voted 3–0 Tuesday to prohibit standalone data centers using more than 50 kilowatts of computing power, an even stricter limit than the 75 kilowatts county staff recommended.
- Smaller facilities would be allowed only in light industrial and general industrial districts, with county approval.
- The rules replace a temporary moratorium on data center applications enacted in June.
- Planners based the original threshold on federal Energy Star guidance identifying 75 kilowatts as the point at which server rooms begin to resemble data centers.
Caveat: Boulder County's 50-kilowatt cap appears unusually restrictive, though comparisons with other communities aren't straightforward.
- Several Ohio communities voted last week to prohibit data centers exceeding 25 megawatts — a threshold 500 times higher.
- Yes, but: Boulder County measures computing equipment's power use, not a facility's total electricity demand. Other communities also regulate data centers by building size, water use or zoning.
Friction point: The county's planning commission recommended rejecting the original proposal last month, urging more research and broader environmental safeguards.
- Several residents also pushed for tougher rules on water consumption, electricity demand, noise and emissions.
- But county planners argued the power cap would keep facilities small enough to minimize their impacts, while the county's special review process could address other concerns on a case-by-case basis.
The other side: Critics warned the power limit could stifle technological innovation and economic development, particularly in Boulder's growing semiconductor and quantum computing industries.
- One speaker Tuesday urged commissioners to consider the jobs, tax revenue and innovation that data centers could bring, arguing that renewable energy and water-saving technology could ease environmental concerns.
Between the lines: Commissioner Marta Loachamin wanted to go even further, suggesting an outright ban to "send a clearer message" that data centers aren't welcome.
- But planners said the land-use code makes an explicit ban difficult and cautioned against inadvertently restricting server rooms and computing infrastructure used by existing businesses.
The bottom line: Commissioners hope state lawmakers will adopt broader data center regulations, but they're not waiting for the state to act.
- "We're trying to regulate a use that, in my opinion, does not belong in unincorporated [Boulder] County," Commissioner Claire Levy said. "In general, we don't want to have this use."