Adams County approves Xcel Energy transmission permit for Aurora data center, 5-0

Adams County commissioners on Feb. 25 approved an Xcel Energy permit to build a roughly 1.3-mile overhead transmission line — about a half-mile of it in unincorporated Adams County — to provide permanent service to a new data center campus in Aurora, voting 5-0 to grant the Areas and Activities of State Interest (ASI) permit RCU2024-8 and an associated development agreement.

County staff and the applicant said the line will interconnect with an existing 230-kilovolt transmission line and extend to a new substation on the data center campus being developed by Quality Technology Services (QTS). Nick Eagleson, a planner with the Community and Economic Development Department, told the board that staff recommended approval with 25 findings of fact, two conditions and one note, and that Planning Commission had recommended approval 7-0.

Xcel Energy’s siting and land-rights agent, Corey Miller, said the project will be built in a roughly 100-foot-wide right of way and will use steel monopoles with structure heights varying between about 80 and 130 feet. Miller said the county portion of the line requires about 10 poles. “This is a customer-funded project,” Miller said, describing QTS as the customer fronting the infrastructure cost. Miller also explained why the company proposed an overhead rather than underground line: undergrounding was technically possible but would “increase the cost of this project by upwards of 10 to 20 times,” and would present additional permitting and maintenance challenges.

The approval includes a development agreement covering preconstruction requirements, construction standards, traffic-control plans and ongoing maintenance. One explicit condition requires Xcel to submit executed land-rights and easement agreements to the director of Community and Economic Development prior to commencing construction.

During the presentation, staff noted that referrals were sent to property owners within a half-mile of the route; 36 notices were delivered and the county received one neutral comment from a nearby property owner who requested collaboration. No referral agencies objected. The project team said they conducted public outreach, held an open house in October 2022, and engaged with other stakeholders including Union Pacific Railroad and the Colorado Department of Transportation. Miller said the line would cross near I‑70 and could not place poles in the interstate right of way, requiring taller structures where the line parallels the highway to meet federal roadway clearance requirements.

Xcel said the line will provide permanent service to a data center that is currently operating on a temporary distribution system. The company said it hopes to begin construction in spring and bring the line into service before the end of the year, subject to obtaining required permits from the city of Aurora (including a conditional-use permit), any required Union Pacific and CDOT permits, and the county’s land-rights condition.

Commissioners asked about the possibility of burying the line, property impacts and compensation. Miller said Xcel is negotiating land-rights agreements and that property owners are compensated as part of those negotiations; he confirmed no executed land-rights agreement was in hand at the time of the hearing and that the executed agreement is a condition of county approval. He also said overhead lines are designed to National Electric Safety Code and Xcel standards, that overhead infrastructure is typically easier to maintain and repair after outages, and that the company has a statewide wildfire-mitigation plan to evaluate infrastructure risk.

The board’s formal motion to approve the permit, including the 25 findings, two conditions and the development agreement, passed unanimously. With no further county items on the agenda the board adjourned.

Votes at a glance: RCU2024-8 — approved 5-0.