Data center siting snapshot: Adams County, Colorado

Line miles are measured from the archived HIFLD Transmission Lines layer inside the Census county boundary. Mapped lines are not available capacity.

What the public record shows

The archived HIFLD map indicates approximately 283.1 miles of 230 kV-and-above transmission line within Adams County, consisting of 19.1 miles at 345 kV and 264.0 miles at 230 kV ^[1]. An additional 102.2 miles of 115–161 kV line are mapped in the area ^[2]. Public Service Co of Colorado, Intermountain Rural Electric Association, and United Power hold the most mapped 115 kV+ line miles ^[3]. Eleven named line endpoints touching 230 kV+ lines are located inside the county ^[4]. Retail electric utilities with mapped service territory covering part of the county include Morgan County Rural Electric Association, Core Electric Cooperative, Public Service Co of Colorado, and United Power ^[5].

Our records show no county- or city-level data center moratorium or ordinance for Adams County as of 2026-11-09 ^[6]. At the state level, Xcel Energy’s proposed large-load tariff PUC 26AL-0137E is pending ^[7]. Several state bills addressing data centers failed to pass, including SB26-102, HB26-1030, HB26-1246, and SB25-280 ^{[8][9][10][11]}.

Drafted by our local model from the numbered facts below, then checked sentence by sentence by a second model and a rules-based check.

Data center rules on record

Rule records come from The MW Desk legislation tracker, which includes rows from the Moratorium Nation dataset by Michael J. Bommarito (CC BY 4.0). Statuses change; confirm with the jurisdiction's own record.

Utilities on record

Morgan County Rural Electric Association, Core Electric Cooperative, Public Service Co of Colorado, United Power. (HIFLD/EIA-861 territory polygons; approximate and often overlapping.)

Market context on The MW Desk: Denver / Colorado Front Range.

Sources

1. [1] The archived HIFLD map shows about 283.1 miles of 230 kV-and-above transmission line inside Adams County, CO: 0.0 miles at 500 kV or more, 19.1 miles at 345 kV and 264.0 miles at 230 kV. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
2. [2] The same map shows about 102.2 miles of 115–161 kV line in the county. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
3. [3] Owners of record with the most mapped 115 kV+ line miles in the county: Public Service Co of Colorado, Intermountain Rural Electric Association, United Power. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
4. [4] 11 named line endpoints touching 230 kV+ lines (usually substations or switchyards) are mapped inside the county. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
5. [5] Retail electric utilities whose mapped service territory covers part of the county include: Morgan County Rural Electric Association, Core Electric Cooperative, Public Service Co of Colorado, United Power. Territory boundaries are approximate. Source: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (EIA-861 based; archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
6. [6] Our records hold no county- or city-level data center moratorium or ordinance for Adams County as of 2026-11-09. Source: The MW Desk legislation tracker
7. [7] Colorado state/utility level, Xcel Energy (CO): Proposed large-load tariff, PUC 26AL-0137E (Covers 50 MW+ loads with dedicated upgrades, long contracts, minimum payments and exit charges. Suspended and pending). Status: pending, dated 2026-11-05. Source: Colorado PUC: electric rate cases (Xcel large-load tariff, proceeding 26AL-0137E)
8. [8] Colorado state/utility level, Colorado: SB26-102 (Regulates "large-load data centers" above 30 MW individual peak load or 60 MW collective load; includes renewable energy and hourly matching rules, water/electricity reporting, infrastructure cost contracts, model codes, site assessments, cumulative impact analysis, public engagement, community benefit agreements, and labor standards). Status: failed, dated 2026-05-11. Source: SB26-102 Bill Status - Colorado General Assembly
9. [9] Colorado state/utility level, Colorado: HB26-1030 (Creates a data center development and incentive program with a 100 percent state sales/use tax exemption for certified data centers, a 250 million dollar minimum investment threshold, job and labor commitments, utility consultation, water stewardship, backup power requirements, and targeted resource acquisition authority). Status: failed, dated 2026-05-07. Source: HB26-1030 Bill Status - Colorado General Assembly
10. [10] Colorado state/utility level, Colorado: HB26-1246 (Would authorize consumer-regulated electric utilities to serve new nonresidential loads, including data centers, outside ordinary public utility regulation unless they interconnect with a regulated utility service territory). Status: failed, dated 2026-04-30. Source: HB26-1246 Bill Status - Colorado General Assembly
11. [11] Colorado state/utility level, Colorado: SB25-280 (Would have created the Colorado Data Center Development and Grid Modernization Act, including certification tiers, sales/use tax exemptions, grid enhancement credits, utility consultation, renewable/clean energy commitments, water stewardship, and annual compliance reports). Status: failed, dated 2025-05-08. Source: SB25-280 Bill Status - Colorado General Assembly