An Alternative Approach to Colorado Policy for Data Centers

A growing number of power grid experts say the challenge posed by hyperscale data centers isn’t simply that the demand is huge; it represents a paradigm shift in how the grid needs to be managed and regulated. They warn that business as usual won’t work, and that if policy fails to adapt, the consequences could be higher costs to all end-use customers, more power fluctuations and blackouts, and more carbon emissions as utilities lean harder on old fossil-fueled generators. It’s already begun to happen in states where hyperscale data center growth has been strong.

Colorado has struggled with data center policy for the last three legislative sessions. In this free CRES Speaker Series event, Dr. David Hurlbut will explain a new policy approach for Colorado that would take advantage of wholesale power markets, accelerate renewable energy development, establish meaningful policy guardrails to protect the state’s scarce water resources and other policy priorities, and avoid the use of state tax breaks as a means to attract data centers.

Join us in person at Odell Brewing Five Points Brewhouse or tune in online via the livestream Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/95283071748

In-person attendees: plan to arrive at 6:30 PM for light networking and refreshments. The main presentation will start promptly at 7 PM.

CRES Policy Statement on Hyperscale Data Centers
As a result of the recent legislative session and continued evolution of this topic nationally, CRES recently updated our Policy Statement on Colorado Hyperscale Data Centers (HDCs) in mid-July. In this document, you will find our policy position on page one, followed by a carefully researched and assembled educational resource providing detailed and up-to-date information on HDCs in Colorado.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
Dr. Hurlbut retired from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2024, where he was the lab’s senior expert in wholesale power markets and transmission policy. Before joining NREL in 2007, he was a market monitor and senior economist on the staff of the Texas Public Utilities Commission, overseeing activity in the wholesale market operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). While in Texas, he pioneered the competitive renewable energy zone (CREZ) model for transmission planning, which led to Texas leading the country in wind and utility-scale solar deployment.