Posted March 19 2026
Around a hundred Coloradans gathered at the State Capitol on March 13 to urge decision-makers at all levels to put in place strong protections against the impacts of unchecked growth and energy consumption from Big Tech, AI and data centers.
Big Tech companies are eyeing Colorado for their new, massive, energy-intensive data centers, which can require the same amount of electricity as an entire city. Colorado currently lacks important protections that are critical to insulating communities from the negative impacts of a wave of new data centers and the massive buildout of energy infrastructure – power plants and transmission lines – necessary to power them. Without strong and fair guardrails in place, Big Tech could drive up energy bills, deplete the state’s limited water supplies for cooling systems, and end up building a fleet of new gas plants and diesel backup generators that pollute the air and derail the state’s climate progress.
The “Fair Rules for Big Tech” rally featured speakers from a cross-section of constituencies, all concerned about – or already impacted by – the impacts of a wave of new data center development in Colorado and demanding fair, common-sense rules to hold some of the richest companies in the world accountable.
At the rally, Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter unveiled a letter signed by 100 elected leaders from cities, towns and counties across Colorado who are deeply concerned about data center impacts on their communities. The letter will be sent to Gov. Polis and state legislators asking them to establish reasonable safeguards against data center growth, from consumer protections to air, water and climate safety measures.
“Local governments across the state may be unduly burdened by development that fails to protect water resources in our drought-prone state, ignores electric grid and other infrastructure impacts, and raises energy costs,” said Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter.
A recent assessment of the electricity market that serves utilities from the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest showed that anticipated demand from data centers had driven up energy costs for all customers by $21.3 billion over the last three years.
In Xcel Energy’s most recent resource planning proceeding before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the utility acknowledged that under a business-as-usual scenario, in which most of the new resources it plans to build will serve data centers and other large industrial users, household bills could spike 50% in the next five years to cover the cost of new power projects. Big Tech, Xcel admitted, would not see any increase in bills.
“Colorado families shouldn’t be asked to subsidize the explosive growth of data centers. Moms across the state are worried about the bills on the kitchen table, and the air and water their kids will grow up with,” said Sarah Kuntzler, the Colorado State Director of Mountain Mamas, who emceed today’s rally. “We can’t shield our kids from the impacts of data centers on our own — we need decision-makers to step up. That’s why we’re calling on the State Legislature to pass common-sense protections this session that keep utility bills affordable, require renewable energy for new facilities, and make sure big tech pays for the infrastructure it needs.”
The March 13 rally was jointly organized by 350 Colorado, Colorado Sierra Club, Colorado Mountain Mamas, Conservation Colorado, Western Clean Energy Campaign, Sunrise Movement Colorado, Green House Connection Center, Healthy Air & Water Colorado, and other partners.
