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# Hayden rezoned 73 acres for a 400-megawatt battery plant. Here's what the town was told.
- URL: https://yvindy.com/hayden-battery-storage-rezoning-jupiter-power/
- Published: 2026-10-31T16:02:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-31T16:02:31.000Z
- Description: The council's 6-0 vote cleared the way for a project described to the council as a $500 million investment. A site plan comes next.
- Author: Anna Parashina
- Tags: Government, Hayden

## Key points

- Hayden's Town Council voted 6-0 on Sept. 17 to rezone 73 acres at 4100 Summers Drive, near the Hayden Station power plant, for a battery energy storage project led by Jupiter Power.
- The town was told the 400-megawatt plant would be a $500 million investment; the property tax estimates in the record cover different periods and taxing bodies.
- A resident asked why the whole parcel was being rezoned when, as he understood it, the plant would use 30 to 40 acres; the packet and minutes don't record a reply.
- Under the code that took effect July 23, data centers need a conditional use permit and are allowed only in the I (Industrial) district; the contract planner told the Planning Commission July 30 that Hayden had no I-2 land. The council adopted a data center moratorium the night of the vote; apart from one resident's comment, the records reviewed don't link the battery project to any data center proposal.
- As of Oct. 27, [the town's planning page listed no site plan application](https://www.haydencolorado.com/174/Planning-Zoning?ref=yvindy.com) for the plant, and no Planning Commission meeting had been posted since July 30.

Hayden's Town Council has rezoned 73 acres near the Hayden Station power plant for a battery energy storage project, a change the council approved 6-0 Sept. 17, with Councilmember Camilla Haight absent.

[Ordinance 750](https://www.haydencolorado.com/DocumentCenter/View/634?ref=yvindy.com) moves the land at 4100 Summers Drive from commercial to I-2 industrial zoning. The land is owned by two Kansas corporations, BZ&W Inc. and Grandmothers Inc.; the applicant is Spruce Summit Resiliency LLC, and Jupiter Power is the project's lead developer, according to town records.

![Fact boxes: capacity 400 megawatts and 1,600 megawatt-hours, per Sen. Roberts' letter; 73 acres at 4100 Summers Drive rezoned from commercial to I-2 industrial; $500 million investment as described in the Sept. 3 council minutes; council vote 6-0 on Sept. 17 with Councilmember Camilla Haight absent; 150 to 200 construction jobs projected in the NCIC letter; Jupiter Power is the lead developer and Spruce Summit Resiliency LLC the applicant.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/hayden_battery_glance_dark.png)

The council approved a matching amendment to the town's master plan Sept. 3\. The Planning Commission had recommended both changes after a July 30 public hearing. Town staff had decided the battery plant is more appropriately classified as an industrial use, and Hayden had no land zoned I-2 at the time, the town's contract planner told the commission, according to its draft minutes.

In adopting the ordinance, the council found that the town's master plan envisions industrial zoning around the Hayden Station power plant, that utilities and access are adequate, and that any development must still meet town standards and address its impacts. The I-2 district is meant for uses such as manufacturing, warehousing and outdoor storage. The signed ordinance records its final adoption Sept. 17.

### What the town was told

The plant would have 400 megawatts of capacity and 1,600 megawatt-hours of storage, [according to a letter from state Sen. Dylan Roberts](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F09172026-55?ref=yvindy.com).

At the Sept. 3 council meeting, Kurt Nelson, presenting for Jupiter Power, described the project, and Town Manager Mathew Mendisco presented the rezoning proposal, according to the minutes. The minutes describe the project as a $500 million investment that would generate about $1.6 million in property taxes a year over 25 years, with operations expected to begin in late 2028 or 2029.

At the Planning Commission's July 30 meeting, the applicant said the project "had previously received approval" from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and was selected through Xcel Energy's competitive procurement. It said the plant is expected to run under a long-term lease, with Jupiter owning and operating it and Xcel using its storage capacity, "subject to approval by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission," according to the commission's draft minutes. The minutes don't say which approvals are still pending.

[Letters in the council packet](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F09172026-55?ref=yvindy.com) gave other figures, covering different periods or taxing bodies:

- A July 24 letter on behalf of the Northwest Colorado Innovation Center, signed by Routt County Commissioner Tim Redmond as chairman of the Northwest Colorado Development Council, put combined county and town property taxes at about $1.5 million a year over the project's 30-year life. It also projected about $4 million in sales tax each for the county and Hayden, and 150 to 200 construction jobs.
- Roberts' letter estimated about $39 million in local property tax over 25 years, about $1.56 million a year by the Independent's calculation, including $14 million for the town and more than $15 million for the Hayden School District.

The Independent is asking the town and Jupiter Power how those estimates were calculated.

![Three property tax estimates the town was given: Sept. 3 council minutes, about $1.6 million a year over 25 years; NCIC letter of July 24, about $1.5 million a year in combined county and town property taxes over 30 years; Sen. Roberts' letter, about $39 million over 25 years, including $14 million for the town and more than $15 million for the Hayden School District, or about $1.56 million a year by the Independent's calculation. The estimates cover different periods and taxing bodies.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/hayden_battery_tax_estimates_dark.png)

Redmond's letter says the site sits next to Xcel Energy's Mount Harris substation, and that Hayden has lost more than 250 jobs, with more than 150 more expected to go by 2028 as Hayden Station closes.

### Questions raised

In a Sept. 15 email to town staff, copied to the mayor and council, a Hayden resident wrote that, as he understood the application, the facility would occupy about 30 to 40 acres of the 73-acre parcel. He asked why the whole parcel was being rezoned and whether industrial zoning would stay if the project were sold or never built. The ordinance rezones the full parcel. Neither the packet nor the minutes record a reply.

Jupiter's Kurt Nelson and the town's contract planner presented before the Sept. 17 public hearing. [Five people spoke during the hearing](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F10012026-56?ref=yvindy.com), four of them in favor and none against, and the resident's emailed comment was presented, according to the minutes.

Later that night, during a hearing on a data center moratorium, a resident voiced concern about "BlackRock (Jupiter)" using the batteries to bring in data centers, according to the minutes. [Jupiter's website says](https://jupiterpower.io/solutions/?ref=yvindy.com) it is backed by Global Infrastructure Partners, "a part of BlackRock." Apart from that comment, the town records the Independent reviewed do not link the battery project to any data center proposal.

The council adopted a six-month emergency moratorium on data center applications that night. The ordinance says town staff had received inquiries about a data center in Hayden; it doesn't say who made them or where. Mayor Ryan Banks told residents Sept. 3 that no data center was being proposed, according to the minutes.

Under the development code that took effect July 23, data centers are allowed only in the town's industrial district, and only with a conditional use permit; battery storage systems also need a conditional use permit there, [the code's table of allowed uses shows](https://www.haydencolorado.com/DocumentCenter/View/591?ref=yvindy.com). The code names that district "I," while Ordinance 750, reviewed under the town's 2022 code, uses "I-2." The Independent is asking the town how the parcel is classified now and whether a data center could be proposed there once the moratorium ends.

The Independent is also asking the town what review remains for the project, and is asking Jupiter Power about its schedule, which approvals are still pending and its agreement with Xcel Energy. It will update this story with any response.

## What's next

The developer plans to file a "future major site plan application," according to the town staff report. As of Oct. 27, no Planning Commission meeting had been posted since July 30, and the town's planning page listed no site plan application for the plant. The town's payment lists show a $412.50 legal invoice dated Sept. 3 and a $420 planning invoice dated Oct. 5, both labeled "Jupiter BESS."

![Timeline: July 23, new development code takes effect. July 30, Planning Commission recommends approval. Sept. 3, master plan amendment approved and Jupiter presents the project. Sept. 17, council rezones 73 acres 6-0 and adopts a six-month data center moratorium. Oct. 12, town seeks data center committee volunteers. Oct. 27, no site plan application listed. Ahead: a major site plan application; operations expected in late 2028 or 2029, per the Sept. 3 minutes.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/3a/aa3a9637-6f90-40b7-a01c-13f8ce5c1e50/content/images/2026/10/hayden_battery_timeline_dark.png)

[The Oct. 1 council minutes](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F10152026-59?ref=yvindy.com) said the data center study committee "will be announced shortly." [A town release dated Oct. 12](https://www.haydencolorado.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=55&ref=yvindy.com) sought volunteers; letters were due before Oct. 26, [Steamboat Radio reported](https://www.steamboatradio.com/2026/10/14/town-of-hayden-forming-data-center-advisory-committee/?ref=yvindy.com).

*Sources: the Town of Hayden's* [*Sept. 17 council packet*](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F09172026-55?ref=yvindy.com)*,* [*Oct. 1*](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F10012026-56?ref=yvindy.com) *and* [*Oct. 15*](https://co-hayden.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/%5F10152026-59?ref=yvindy.com) *council packets,* [*signed Ordinance 750*](https://www.haydencolorado.com/DocumentCenter/View/634?ref=yvindy.com)*,* [*development code*](https://www.haydencolorado.com/DocumentCenter/View/591?ref=yvindy.com)*,* [*planning page*](https://www.haydencolorado.com/174/Planning-Zoning?ref=yvindy.com) *and* [*Oct. 12 release*](https://www.haydencolorado.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=55&ref=yvindy.com)*;* [*Jupiter Power's website*](https://jupiterpower.io/solutions/?ref=yvindy.com)*; and* [*Steamboat Radio*](https://www.steamboatradio.com/2026/10/14/town-of-hayden-forming-data-center-advisory-committee/?ref=yvindy.com)*.*