AI Frontier Institute

Large-Load Data Centers

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SB26-102 would have set rules for large-load data centers, but the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee postponed it indefinitely on May 11, 2026, so it died and never became law. The bill defined a large-load data center as a new one with a peak load above 30 megawatts (or several new ones above 60 megawatts combined), or an existing one adding more than that (40-2.5-101). By June 30, 2030, the Public Utilities Commission would decide whether 100% hourly matching with renewable power is feasible, and if not, set the highest feasible percentage (40-2.5-102). From January 1, 2031, operators would have to acquire new renewable electricity equal to 100% of annual use and meet the hourly matching level. Operators using utility power would pay, through contracts of at least 15 years, the costs of the generation, transmission and distribution needed to serve them. They would also fund demand-side programs, use water-efficient technology, and limit combustion backup generators to emergencies and no more than 50 test hours a year (40-2.5-103). Operators would report energy and water use each June 30 starting in 2028 to the Department of Public Health and Environment (40-2.5-104). A utility could not connect or supply a large-load data center until the operator made an up-front payment or signed such a contract, from 2031 until it verified the operator's compliance with hourly matching, and until the utility determined the addition would not harm reliability for existing customers, its clean energy and emissions targets, or raise its greenhouse gas emissions over 15 years; it also could not offer economic development rates (40-2.5-105). Developers would submit a site assessment of water, air emissions and other impacts with their permit application, local governments could not zone large-load data centers as a use by right, and the Department of Local Affairs would publish model codes by June 30, 2027 (40-2.5-106). Sites in disproportionately impacted communities would need a cumulative impacts analysis and a community benefit agreement (40-2.5-107). Operators would pay prevailing wages and join registered apprenticeship programs (40-2.5-108). The bill's only mention of artificial intelligence is in its definition of a data center.

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