Revised Colorado energy park proposal moves toward Jefferson County review
The proposed first phase near the National Renewable Energy Laboratory would include about 60,000 square feet of energy and grid-security space, including a secure facility.
Colorado officials outlined a revised energy park proposal Sept. 15 that would place about 60,000 square feet of energy and grid-security space on state-owned land near the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Jefferson County. The first phase would include a 20,000-square-foot sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, officials told the Colorado General Assembly’s Capital Development Committee.
The proposal is not yet approved or funded. Officials said tenant recruitment is underway and that the project would soon enter Jefferson County’s location-and-extent process, a land-use review that precedes later approvals and construction steps.
The proposed site was previously identified as roughly 9.3 acres of undeveloped, state-owned land off Research Road, just south of the laboratory. A 2022 state announcement described the property as available for a long-term ground lease.
About 40,000 square feet of the first phase would surround the secure facility, with varying levels of security, according to the committee presentation. Future phases could be considered depending on demand. The stated goal is to support energy and grid-security research, development and commercialization by drawing on Colorado’s laboratories and universities.
The committee update did not establish a cost, funding commitment or construction schedule for the revised proposal. It described tenant recruitment and anticipated county review, not a final county approval, building permit or groundbreaking.