AI Frontier Institute

Data Center & Utility Modernization

View primary source →

HB26-1030 would have created a state tax incentive program for data centers and a new utility planning process for very large electricity customers, but the House Energy & Environment Committee postponed it indefinitely on May 7, 2026, so it died and never became law. The bill would have set up a nine-member Colorado data center development authority in the Office of Economic Development (24-48.5-804). Data center operators, alone or with tenants, could apply for certification and a 100% state sales and use tax exemption on qualified purchases made on or after January 1, 2027, for 20 years, with a possible 10-year extension (24-48.5-808, 24-48.5-810, 39-26-735). To qualify, an operator would commit to at least $250 million in qualified purchases within 60 months, new jobs with average pay of at least 110% of the county average wage, breaking ground within 24 months, closed-loop or waterless cooling, an energy or environmental standard such as LEED Gold or Energy Star, cleaner backup generators, prevailing wage, and worker safety plans (24-48.5-806). Within 60 days of notice, the utility would have to verify the data center would not cause unreasonable cost impacts for other ratepayers, by filing a targeted resource acquisition application, giving a technical report on cost allocation, or documenting an agreement in which the operator covers its fair share of upgrade costs, and would provide a feasibility assessment (24-48.5-807). Operators would file annual compliance reports, and certification could be revoked with repayment of the tax benefit (24-48.5-808, 24-48.5-809). A targeted resource acquisition, for customers of at least 100 megawatts, would target three-to-one non-emitting to emitting capacity through 2039, with the customer funding advanced carbon-free technology when a portfolio fell short, all clean resources from 2040, and at least 30% of proposed resources and infrastructure supporting consumer solar, battery storage and load-reduction programs (40-2-140). Local governments would keep their own authority (24-48.5-811). The bill's only mention of artificial intelligence is in its definition of a data center.

← Back to the tracker