The Aurora City Council is set to consider its first regulation for data centers as the fast-multiplying facilities central to modern digital life spur pushback from people worried about impacts to neighborhoods and the environment.
But the item on Monday night’s agenda — a measure that would ban the use of evaporative cooling systems — won’t be the last in Colorado’s third-largest city.
That initial measure would apply to any commercial, industrial or multifamily development in Aurora. Besides saving water citywide, the ordinance is expected to result in a significant reduction of water consumption at data centers.
Data centers have become notorious for their heavy water use — with the liquid used as a cooling agent for the servers and computers that run 24 hours a day, processing data and lighting up web pages and apps for consumers all around the world. The systems circulate evaporated water through the air, much like a swamp cooler, and can use a lot of water, especially across a large space.
“I think there’s a balance between business and community,” said Councilwoman Amy Wiles, who has been heavily involved in coming up with rules for data centers in Aurora.
Wiles favored a six-month ban on new data centers in the city, but that idea was rejected by the council last month in a 6-5 vote. So now the city is moving forward with regulations.
Monday is just the first bite at the apple, Wiles said. Distance restrictions — for how far data centers can be located from homes and schools — will be considered next, she said, along with a proposal to tighten up where the facilities can locate in the city.
The council may also have discussions about how to control noise and screen the generators that kick on when the power goes out at a data center.
“What kind of neighborhood buffer should we have in the approved zones?” Wiles said. “That’s going to be a big conversation.”
She expects Aurora to complete its data center rules by the end of the year.
The ban on evaporative cooling systems would force data centers to use other, more water-efficient cooling mechanisms, like a closed-loop cooling system. At a recent town hall-style meeting, city officials said data centers account for only 0.3% of Aurora’s water usage.
“We have other businesses that are using more water than our data centers,” Wiles said.
The city is home to nine data centers now, with another five in the permitting or land-acquisition process. One of the biggest in Colorado right now is the 65-acre on North Gun Club Road, which is operational and slated for expansion.
On the power side, Wiles said the city would leave that to Xcel Energy to handle. Depending on their size, data centers are known for consuming prodigious amounts of electric power.
Aurora’s recent rejection of the six-month moratorium on new data centers in the city stands in contrast to what several other Colorado cities and counties have done to rein in the industry.
Lochbuie, a small but growing town straddling Adams and Weld counties, enacted Colorado’s most severe data center crackdown in July, . Denver is in the midst of a one-year moratorium on new data centers while city leaders weigh new rules.
Jefferson County passed a , while Larimer County has a that lifts in February.
Aurora’s expected rollout of regulations comes just days after Weld County commissioners unanimously approved what could be Colorado’s largest data center — a 41-acre operation at the former Carestream Health site, between Windsor and Greeley, that has the potential to be the state’s largest such development at full buildout.
The county gave its approval Wednesday to Global AI, a New York-based artificial intelligence firm, at a well-attended meeting in Greeley.
While many people in the audience spoke out against the proposed facility, voicing concerns about water usage and noise pollution, the commissioners said the company’s proposal met the data center regulations Weld County passed in the spring.
