Weld County group collecting petition signatures to block Global AI data center

A citizens group wants Weld County voters to have the final say on county commissioners’ recent approval of a large data center project near Windsor — and to require voter approval of all such developments in the future.

Two petitions backed by the group Protect Our Water and Energy Resources, or POWER, were approved for circulation Monday by the Weld County Clerk and Recorder’s office, the group said.

One would force a referendum on the Weld County Board of Commissioners’ Sept. 9 approval of New York-based Global AI’s plans to construct a new 41-acre data center, which could become the largest such facility operating in Colorado, on the former Carestream Health site southeast of Windsor. The second measure is a citizen initiative that would prohibit the county from issuing an occupancy permit to any data center unless “approved by a majority of the registered electors of Weld County voting at a regular or special election.”

Both measures need the support of at least 9,103 registered voters in the county — equal to 5% of the total number of ballots cast there in the previous general election — to go before voters.

“This referendum puts power back in the hands of the people of Weld County,” Patricia Garcia-Nelson, a longtime Weld County environmental activist, said in a press release announcing the campaign. “We have the right to decide what happens to our community, not just on this project, but on the ones that come next.”

Commissioners’ 5-0 vote in favor of the Global AI proposal came after a daylong hearing earlier this month that included hours of public comment, mostly in opposition to the project. Local opponents have organized against the proposal for months, citing concerns about its energy and water use, noise levels and other potential impacts, part of a statewide and national trend that has many local governments weighing moratoriums on data center development.

Global AI has said that the facility will use a closed-loop cooling system that minimizes water use, and its initial 27.5-megawatt capacity would be served by the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, though it has long-term plans to expand to a much larger capacity of up to one gigawatt. The company claims the project will bring about 1,500 construction jobs and 200 long-term jobs to Weld County.

Local governments in Colorado enact moratoriums on data center development

In granting the project a so-called Use by Special Review permit, Weld County commissioners deemed it “compatible with the surrounding land uses” and with “adequate provisions for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood and County.”

Opponents have 45 days to collect enough valid petition signatures to trigger a veto referendum on the commissioners’ resolution, and to put their initiated ordinance to voters. If the measures receive sufficient signatures, the county commissioners board must call a special election to be held within 60 days, according to the county charter.

“We have heard residents of Weld County speak out at meeting after meeting about their concerns with the Global AI data center,” said Matt Cheroutes, campaign manager for POWER, in a statement. “Those concerns were not heard, so now we’re taking this to the voters. The commissioners had their vote. Now it’s the people’s turn.”