54 Colorado Organizations Urge Lawmakers to Hold Big Tech Accountable for Data Center Impacts

A coalition of 54 organizations from across Colorado has sent a formal letter to Governor Jared Polis and members of the Colorado General Assembly, urging state leaders to adopt stronger guardrails around large-scale data center development.

The letter raises concerns about rising electricity rates, water scarcity, climate impacts, and long-term tax policy decisions as artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure expand rapidly across the state. Supporters argue that without clear consumer and environmental protections in place, Colorado families and small businesses could bear the cost of rapid industry growth.

Below is the full text of the letter submitted to state leaders.

A Letter From Colorado Organizations: Please Hold Big Tech Accountable to Do Its Fair Share

Dear Governor Polis and the Colorado General Assembly,

We, the undersigned 54 organizations representing Coloradans all over the state, write to you today urging you to take action to protect Colorado from the harmful impacts of Big Tech’s unchecked data center development.

New, large data centers present a number of risks for Colorado including the construction of new power plants and transmission lines that increase the electricity rates paid by all Coloradans; construction of new gas-fired power plants; use of diesel generators; delayed closures of coal plants that increase air pollution and put Colorado at risk of failing to meet its climate goals; use of large amounts of water in our already water-constrained state; and other adverse impacts on communities near these massive new facilities. Without proper protections, Coloradans could end up subsidizing Big Tech’s data center operations while breathing dirtier air and depleting critical water resources.

Data centers are extremely energy and water-intensive and Colorado lacks the policy guardrails needed to make sure that Coloradans aren’t saddled with the cost of their explosive new energy demands. Colorado’s largest utility, Xcel Energy, estimates that new data centers could lead to more than a 30 percent increase in the utility’s peak power demand by 2035. The new QTS data center being built in Aurora will be Xcel’s largest single customer, requiring energy equivalent to powering approximately 80,000 households. With energy bills and other household expenses at an all-time high, it is imperative that data center companies pay their way to use Colorado’s infrastructure. After all, many of the companies building data centers, such as Google and Microsoft, are some of the richest companies in the world.

The reality is that data centers are coming to Colorado and several are already here. With the proliferation of AI, the rate of large facility development is accelerating and is very different now than it was just two years ago. The legislature must act now to ensure that Big Tech pays its fair share and avoids harming Coloradans.

In 2026, we ask that you do everything in your power to pass common-sense policies that do the following:

1. Protect Coloradans’ energy bills from high costs associated with data center growth;
2. Ensure Colorado’s air and water is safe from increased data center pollution and use;
3. Require data center projects to be a part of achieving Colorado’s climate goals, not a detriment;
4. Promote transparency into data center projects and community impacts;
5. Require data centers be built and maintained to high labor standards, including prevailing wage, community benefits, safety, and using project labor agreements;
6. Avoid disproportionately bending Colorado’s tax code to benefit data center companies at a time when massive budget cuts are being made to healthcare and K-12 education.

State leaders face a choice in 2026: take action to ensure Big Tech does no harm in Colorado, or let Big Tech companies get away with raising our electricity bills and harming our environment. We urge you to pass state policies protecting Coloradans from the various risks associated with unchecked data center development.

Sincerely,

350 Colorado Ark Valley Energy Future Be The Change – Colorado Black Parents United Foundation Colorado Coalition for Livable Climate Centennial State Prosperity Clean Air Pueblo Clean Energy Action Colorado Center on Law and Policy Colorado Common Cause Colorado Fiscal Institute Colorado Jewish Climate Action Colorado Renewable Energy Society Conservation Colorado Cultivando Earthjustice Earthworks Ebony Advocates FoCo Trash Mob Good Business Colorado Association Great Old Broads for Wilderness Green House Connection Center GreenLatinos GRID Alternatives Groundwork Denver Harvest of All First Nations Healthy Air & Water Colorado Hispanic Affairs Project Independiente Larimer Alliance for Health, Safety, and the Environment Mi Familia Vota Moms Clean Air Force Colorado Mountain Mamas Physicians for Social Responsibility – Colorado ProgressNow Colorado Recovery Cafe Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center Roots to Resilience San Juan Citizens Alliance San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council Science Health and Access to Resources and Education Signal Tech Coalition Sierra Club Colorado Solar United Neighbors Southwest Energy Efficiency Project The Bell Policy Center Third Act – Colorado Together Colorado Unite North Metro Denver Vote Solar Western Clean Energy Campaign Western Colorado Alliance Western Resource Advocates Womxn From The Mountain