Weld County is set to become the home of Colorado’s largest data center after the commissioners approved a construction permit for Global AI.
A day before the commissioners’ approval on Wednesday, the Greeley City Council already set in motion plans to annex the property.
The commissioners said they approved Global AI according to the county’s municipal code, . Despite an outpouring of public opposition, the commissioners and Global AI said the submitted application met the county’s standards.
“You have to respect our code. You have to respect the legal process. Once an application has been filed, we must sit in a quasi-judicial manner and hear any comments outside of this particular setting,” Commissioner Scott James said. “But we need to continue that conversation, because for all the many hats that we wear, the most important hat that I wear is to be your elected representative, and I am the way that you petition governments. I welcome that responsibility.”
Global AI is a New York-based artificial intelligence firm that seeks to develop the world’s first sovereign AI data center in Weld County. The company plans to operate the data center alongside tech giant Nvidia and Humain, an Arabic-language AI model backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
The data center, proposed for the former Carestream Health site at 2000 Howard Smith Avenue W that’s between Windsor and Greeley, has recently been investigated by the county for County inspectors said they found four actions outside previously permitted construction, which only allowed repairs to the building. Global AI refused to challenge the violations and agreed to remedy the construction and stop work.
James and Commissioner Jason Maxey questioned how they could trust Global AI to follow their direction, since it had already violated the code. David Foster, a lawyer with Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP, argued it was the county’s fault due to the code change.
“You changed the rules after building permits had not only been submitted, but many of them had already been issued,” Foster said. “You’re asking about confidence in my clients. So the way I would resolve it is to say what my clients didn’t do. They didn’t challenge to stay under the site plan, as they had initially submitted. What they did do is amend an application, and they put themselves front and center right here, right now, for you to review. I think that’s a sign of good faith.”
Many residents spoke at the commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, voicing concerns about water usage and noise pollution. The county shared noise-level readings from the area, finding that ambient noise was already above the data center’s noise-level limit, reaching as high as 100 decibels in parts of the proposed development area.
Despite ambient levels reaching up to 100 decibels in some parts, county staff said the data center will still be limited to 65 decibels. If the county receives complaints, planning manager Angela Snyder told the commissioners it would verify them using technology that could identify the source of excess noise.
Foster said Global AI would only exceed the 65-decibel limit in emergency situations, but their day-to-day use would comply with the noise limit.
“Let’s just be abundantly clear about what it (the noise study) shows. As it sits on a day-to-day basis, our use meets the noise standards that you have imposed on us,” he said. “When emergencies happen, sometimes noise is emitted at a higher level, but that’s an emergency situation. That’s not our use.”
The commissioners were largely satisfied with the data center’s closed-loop water system, which will require a first-time fill of 65,000 gallons and an annual top-off of 6,500 gallons. The county had previously not required data centers to use that specific type of cooling technology, but after public input and discussion at Wednesday’s meeting, the commissioners decided to require it.
Additionally, all water will be treated at an on-site wastewater treatment facility, and all water systems will connect to it. Foster assured Maxey this meant that water cannot enter the nearby river.
Both Greeley and Windsor have provided letters confirming they will provide water to the data center; however, both come with the condition of On Tuesday, the Greeley City Council approved a pre-annexation agreement with Global AI, setting the stage for the data center to be annexed by the end of March 2028. Only Councilman Craig Huddleston opposed the agreement, wishing to avoid making decisions until the county approved the development.
Snyder clarified this will only go through if the city successfully it approved in August. Windsor has filed a letter of reconsideration, which could prevent the annexation and, consequently, Global AI’s annexation into Greeley.
Members from the neighboring Kodak Alaris spoke of an ongoing legal battle Wednesday with the Poudre Valley REA, questioning whether Global AI could even get power to its site. Mark Savala from BROE Real Estate Group also spoke to the nature of dealings with Global AI as its neighbor.
“The code requires the county to determine that the applicant can demonstrate adequate water and electrical supply and delivery. There are real questions about whether Global AI has or can satisfy these requirements,” Savala said. “The physical reality of these properties is such that water and power delivery depends on Global AI cooperating with its neighbors. So far, they have refused to do so.”
When giving the chance to respond to public comment, Foster told the county and residents to mind their business.
“We had a number of lawyers and other experts come up here and testify as to a bunch of documents, and frankly, they’re not your business,” Foster said. “They’re private agreements. Is there a dispute? You bet. Are we surprised that they showed up today to talk about our dispute publicly? Not at all. But that’s not for you to resolve. That’s not your realm to review. It’s not within your purview.”
Commissioner Kevin Ross and Maxey questioned how Global AI could comply with the county’s requirements if it doesn’t have a secure way to get electricity. Foster said the county only required a will-serve letter, which Gloabl AI received from Poudre Valley REA.
The meeting concluded with permit alterations recommended by the public. One of the largest alterations required Global AI to secure a bond to cover decommissioning costs when they complete the site within the next six months.
Though the language wasn’t finalized on what would be required, the general consensus was that decommissioning costs would go toward returning the building to its current state, excluding improvements made that could be used by the next tenant.
Editor’s note: This story was updated 1:50 p.m. Sept. 10 to correct the amount of water used to initially fill the data center’s cooling system.
