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North America / Commercial & demonstration

Niobrara Energy Park Data Center Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations6
System facts15
Sources reviewed10
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Niobrara Energy Park near Carr in northern Weld County, Colorado, was a shovel-ready industrial/data-center development concept, not an operating microgrid. Harrison Resource Corporation and related entities obtained land-use and gas-pipeline approvals and marketed roughly 640-662 acres for natural-gas generation, cogeneration, solar, wind, geothermal, storage, research and data centers. Capacity concepts changed substantially between sources; no reviewed evidence shows that the archived 50 MW solar, 30 MW wind and 650 MW gas/diesel configuration was procured or built.

Research status
Original proposal not built and effectively superseded. Contemporary releases continued to market the site to a buyer or joint-venture developer years after approval, and NCMC Inc. purchased the full 662-acre property from Niobrara Energy Park LLC in August 2019 for $4.9 million as a real-estate investment. No evidence was found that Harrison commissioned generation before the sale or that NCMC subsequently built the proposed microgrid through July 2026. Current disposition of individual parcels and any non-energy development requires county-title research beyond the public project record.
Historical classification
Commercial
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
40.88433, -104.79497
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Niobrara Energy Park Data Center Microgrid?

6 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

CH2M HILL / IDC Architects

Retained in 2011 for visioning and master-planning work after numerous feasibility studies; this was design/marketing work, not EPC evidence. [6]

Organization

Harrison Resource Corporation

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

Harrison Resource Corporation / Niobrara Energy Park LLC

Original developer, land-use applicant and marketer of the energy/data-center park concept; Craig Harrison was identified as project principal. [3][4][6]

Organization

NCMC Inc.

Acquired the entire 662-acre property in August 2019 as a real-estate investment; NCMC owns North Colorado Medical Center. [9]

Organization

Niobrara NatGas LLC

Received a Colorado public-utilities certificate for a 12-inch pipeline from the Cheyenne Gas Hub and local distribution system; authorization does not establish construction or operation. [5]

Organization

Weld County

Approved the industrial park zoning/land-use proposal and promoted the site as a future data-center/energy development. [3][4]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
50000 [1]
KW Wind
30000 [1]
KW Gas/Diesel
650000 [1]
Storage
NA [1]
Land and location
Approximately 640 acres in early approvals and 662 acres at the 2019 sale, near Carr in northern Weld County, Colorado, close to Wyoming, transmission, gas and fiber corridors [3][4][9]
Archived capacity claim
50 MW solar, 30 MW wind and 650 MW gas/diesel appeared in the archived project record, but reviewed developer, county and regulator sources do not corroborate that combination as a financed or final design. [10]
Retrospective design concept
A later Jacobs presentation describes a 300 MW data-center demand concept supported by 200 MW CHP, 100 MW PV and storage. These values demonstrate an evolving master-plan scenario, not installed capacity. [8]
Existing grid access
A Siemens planning presentation cited about 100 MW of electricity available from the adjacent grid. Grid availability is not an onsite generation asset. [7]
Gas infrastructure authorization
Colorado regulators authorized a 12-inch connection from the Cheyenne Gas Hub plus distribution facilities; the 2013 decision projected construction in the third quarter of 2013 and service in early 2017, but no reviewed source confirms completion. [5]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Proposed generation

Model not publicly disclosed

Natural-gas cogeneration/generation, solar PV, wind, geothermal and energy storage all appeared in different planning/marketing materials. No turbine, engine, module, inverter, storage, switchgear or controller manufacturer/model was publicly established as procured equipment. [3][4][8]

02

Proposed loads

Model not publicly disclosed

Large data centers, research facilities and other industrial uses were the intended anchor loads. None of the reviewed sources proves that a data center was constructed on the original project schedule. [3][6]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Development chronology

    Weld County approved the concept in March 2011; CH2M/IDC was engaged later that year; the gas certificate followed in 2013. Marketing still sought a buyer or joint-venture developer in 2015, and the land was sold in 2019. [3][6][5][9]

  • Project boundary warning

    This Colorado proposal should not be conflated with later/current developments using the Niobrara Energy Park name in Cheyenne/Laramie County, Wyoming. The archived record's County Road 29/Carr location identifies the Weld County project. [4][10]

  • Performance

    Because no operating plant was established, renewable share, fuel use, generation, outages, emissions savings and microgrid-islanding performance are not applicable. Approval, zoning and 'shovel-ready' language must not be converted into operational status. [9][3]

  • Open evidence gaps

    No final power-plant design, equipment orders, financing close, construction notice, interconnection completion, pipeline in-service notice or commissioning record was located. The current use of all former park parcels is also not established here. [9][5]

Provenance

10 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
    http://www.niobraraenergypark.com/

    niobraraenergypark.com · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  3. [3]
    New Hybrid Energy Park Approved for Northern Weld County, Colorado

    Harrison Resource Corporation / PR Newswire · Primary source

  4. [4]
  5. [5]
  6. [6]
  7. [7]
  8. [8]
  9. [9]
  10. [10]
    Archived Niobrara Energy Park Data Center Microgrid record

    MicrogridProjects.com via Internet Archive · Archived source

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