While some Colorado communities have been blithely slapping moratoriums on new data centers, Douglas County is going in a distinctly different — and refreshingly realistic — direction.

As reported in The Gazette on Tuesday, Douglas County commissioners are poised to approve a $19.3 million tax rebate agreement Tuesday for a new data center under construction in Parker. The pending agreement would provide a 100% rebate for Douglas County’s share of the business personal property taxes generated by the facility’s equipment over the next 35 years.

The town of Parker’s planning commission already had approved the proposal unanimously in January 2024. That was followed by the Town Council’s approval — also unanimous — in February. So, lots of buy-in.

The data center operator is Colorado-based Flexential, and the planned Parker facility would be its fifth location in the state. Flexential operates 41 data centers across 18 U.S. markets.

Of course, Douglas County’s welcoming approach stands in stark contrast to the response to data center development in various other climes along Colorado’s Front Range. 

Local governments enacting moratoriums have been bowing to popular sensibilities that range from reasonable, though easily addressed, to utterly unfounded — and politically motivated.

Denver approved a one-year moratorium on new data center permits in May; Jefferson County followed with a 10-month moratorium to evaluate public concerns. Boulder and Larimer counties enacted similar temporary pauses to study potential impacts. In July, Broomfield approved an 18-month moratorium on new data centers through December 2027. Even Monument on the northern flank of El Paso County has enacted a moratorium.

Meanwhile, the Project Taurus data center slated to begin operation in a former semiconductor plant in Colorado Springs has made it most of the way through the city’s local review process — but only after encountering noisy opposition that at times has bordered on hysterical.

The purported points of concern among opponents — most often, they point to the data centers’ use of local water and power — often enough defy the realities of the proposals under consideration.

The Douglas County project, for example, allays such fears. In fact, there seem to be no negatives at all, only positives.

As noted in The Gazette’s report, the Parker data center will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system for its infrastructure, meaning it’s filled once and never again because none of the coolant evaporates. 

And the project’s power will be provided by CORE Electric Cooperative through an existing substation adjacent to the site. CORE has publicly supported the project, saying the 22.5-megawatt data center will fund its infrastructure and will not increase electric rates for residential customers.

What’s more, Parker officials estimated the facility could generate between $500,000 and $700,000 annually in local tax revenue. The tax dollars will support public safety, infrastructure, parks, recreation and open space programs.

As noted here before, a lot of the histrionics against data centers has political origins — providing a podium to pound for manipulative politicians exploiting misplaced fears. 

In reality, data centers are mere digital storage hubs. They’re essential to today’s AI-supercharged internet but actually have been around a long time. They have expanded around the country simply to meet net users’ demands. 

In other words, if they are the enemy, as some would have it, then the enemy is all of us — anyone who uses AI at work or even Googles a recipe at home. 

All that data has to live somewhere, after all, and it can be a good neighbor. Douglas County is setting an example. Let’s hope other communities follow suit.