Colorado communities are moving ahead with approvals of massive new data centers, even as new public polling shows citizen opposition swelling over concerns about electricity and water use and noise.
The Colorado Springs City Council will hold a key public hearing Thursday on the controversial “Taurus” data center proposed for a former microchip factory near Garden of the Gods. That center could draw up to 50 megawatts of power from Colorado Springs Utilities, and neighborhood groups have risen up with fears of noise and other impacts on the area.
Politicians voting on planning recommendations and permits are looking over their shoulders at poll results like these: An independent survey of 1,389 registered voters by the respected Magellan firm found 82% of Coloradans “oppose a data center in their city or town, 77% oppose one in their county, 86% oppose one near their neighborhood, and 75% oppose one elsewhere in the state.”…