Northern Colorado's Weld County sees data and AI centers as major part of economic future
Northern Colorado's Weld County, one of the fastest growing counties in the state, is looking to evolve their economic diversity in the decades to come. The county, primarily known for its agriculture and oil and gas roots, is now hoping to start moving their economic portfolio toward data centers and artificial intelligence.
The county is partnering with a company named GlobalAI to build the county's first data center near Windsor.
David Eisenbraun, planning services director for Weld County, told CBS Colorado this first data center is just the beginning of what the county hopes will be a bright future in hosting data and AI facilities. He took CBS Colorado to a property known as the Great Western Industrial Park, previously home to companies like Kodak. However, the property has struggled to retain companies, paving the way for GlobalAI to expand into the space.
"We are in unincorporated Weld County here, right smack dab in the middle of the Town of Windsor and the City of Greeley," Eisenbraun said.
While there is currently a tenant operating an unrelated business out of a portion of the property, Eisenbraun said GlobalAI has begin the process of trying to obtain some of the space for a future data center. The county has already granted permits for the initial phase of the facility which consists of demolishing the interior of the facility in-part.
"This will be the county's very first data center," Eisenbraun said. "Weld County is open for businesses."
The GlobalAI facility is expected to be an agnostic data center, meaning the computers within the facility will not be storing data for a singular company but rather a multitude.
Eisenbraun said this first project is a starting point for what the county hopes to be a strong dedication to data and AI in the future, diversifying the tax revenue away from just agriculture and oil and gas.
"Weld County has had a strong history with the oil and gas industry, and they are still a great partner of ours. But, as oil and gas has inherent cycles to it with large booms and busts, there is great opportunity for the county to really find a new energy user," Eisenbraun said.
Eisenbraun said the data centers may not individually create a significant number of jobs. However, they are expected to create a steady flow of cash from taxes.
"They are really much more of a constant when it comes to the economic and fiscal components," Eisenbraun said. "When they recycle that every three to five years with new technology and those new data racks have to come in, they are repaying or reflushing that tax in there."
Eisenbraun confirmed the county is looking to preserve their agricultural roots. He said that includes working to make sure data centers, which are known for having large footprints, do not swallow up farming land. He noted that was a major selling point for the former Kodak property, as the infrastructure already existed.
"It is not taking prime egg land. It is not taking farms or ranches out of production to then go and replace technology in there," Eisenbraun said.
Eisenbraun said Weld County is not only trying to catch up with modern business opportunities, but they are also being proactive in their efforts to do so. He said that includes making sure the county does its part to make sure any future data or artificial intelligence locations are stewards to the land and water.
The GlobalAI facility is reportedly going to not take as much water as many AI facilities require. Eisenbraun said the facility is projected to only use as much was as the average household per year.
"There is not a large water demand on this particular facility, even with future expansions," Eisenbraun said.
Weld County is not a water provider, therefore it is up to companies looking to invest in data centers in the region to follow water district, local, state and federal guidelines when it comes to their energy and water consumption.
