Longmont considers ban on hyperscale data centers amid growing energy and water concerns

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Danielle. Data centers, massive facilities full of servers who store and process data for software like AI programs, are popping up around the country and they're being met with resistance in many places like what you're seeing here in Utah where hundreds of people made their voices heard in opposition to a 40,000 acre data center proposed by celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary. Among their concerns the massive amount of water used by these facilities, the strain they can put on electrical infrastructure, as well as air and light pollution. For comparison, 40,000 acres is more than twice the size of the city of Longmont where an ordinance banning hyperscale data centers from the city is under consideration. We wanted to learn more about the logistics of those data centers and what supporting a facility like that could mean for the community.

[00:00:48]Denver 7's Ethan Carlson explains.

[00:00:50]The power of the grid at their fingertips.

[00:00:53]>> The city of Longmont is very fortunate to have its own electric municipal utility.

[00:00:57]>> It's right here that they monitor electrical distribution for the entire city of Longmont.

[00:01:02]>> so we don't have shareholders that need to make a profit off of uh the rates.

[00:01:07]Daryl Hahn is the electrical utilities director for the city of Longmont, which has started looking into banning hyperscale data centers, those that consume 100 megawatts or more.

[00:01:17]>> 100 megawatts is about half of our peak load on a hot summer day. Depending on whether you're looking at single-family residences or multi-family residences, that could be anywhere from say 10,000 to 30,000 units, homes, apartments.

[00:01:29]>> Data centers are on the rise across the country um including in the front range of Colorado and uh are increasingly raising community concerns.

[00:01:36]>> Longmont City Council member Matthew Popkin proposed the hyperscale data center ban in April.

[00:01:41]>> I think that it is critical that we not just see the positives there and make sure that we're prepared for the risks, especially in a region that's facing greater challenges every day from fire risk, drought, um and and to water consumption as well.

[00:01:55]>> Longmont city staff are bringing an ordinance to council Tuesday night that details the proposed ban on huge data centers, but a decision won't come until June 9th at the earliest.

[00:02:04]>> I've heard feedback directly from community members asking how we're thinking about this, asking us not to approve any hyperscale data data center facilities.

[00:02:13]>> Still, if the ordinance does not pass, Hahn says the city already has some safeguards.

[00:02:18]>> Does it meet noise ordinances? Does it have an excessive use of water? Can we meet the power needs? And if the answer to any of those is no, then that's just a project that wouldn't go forward.

[00:02:27]>> And if a data center eventually moves into town, Hahn says the company would have to pay for all the necessary infrastructure.

[00:02:33]>> One of the basic tenants here in the city is that development generally pays for its own way.

[00:02:38]>> In Longmont, Ethan Carlson, Denver 7.