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Cheyenne, Wyoming is poised to host an artificial intelligence (AI) data center of unprecedented scale, with plans announced by Mayor Patrick Collins revealing a facility that could eventually consume more electricity than all of Wyoming’s homes combined, and even double the state’s total current power generation.
The ambitious project, a collaboration between energy infrastructure firm Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, is slated to begin operations at an initial 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of power demand, with an eventual expansion to a staggering 10 GW. To put this into perspective, the initial 1.8 GW phase alone is projected to consume 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually. This figure is more than five times the electricity used by every household across Wyoming, the least populous U.S. state. Furthermore, it represents a substantial 91 percent of the 17.3 TWh currently consumed by all of Wyoming’s residential, commercial, and industrial sectors combined.
Should the data center reach its full 10 GW capacity, its annual electricity consumption would skyrocket to an astounding 87.6 TWh. This amount is double the 43.2 TWh that the entire state of Wyoming currently generates annually.
Recognizing the impossibility of drawing such immense power from the public grid, project officials and Mayor Collins have confirmed that the facility will rely on its own dedicated power generation, sourcing from both natural gas and renewable energy. This self-sufficiency marks a significant shift for Wyoming, a state that historically exports nearly 60 percent of its generated electricity to other states.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon expressed strong support for the initiative, highlighting its potential benefits for the state’s natural gas industry. “This is exciting news for Wyoming and for Wyoming natural gas producers,” Gordon stated in a company release.
The proposed site for this cutting-edge data center is located several miles south of Cheyenne, near the Colorado border, off US Route 85. While the project awaits final approval from state and local regulators, Mayor Collins conveyed optimism for a swift commencement, indicating that developers aim to “go sooner rather than later.”
Cheyenne is no stranger to the data center industry, having successfully attracted major players like Microsoft and Meta since 2012, largely due to its favorable cool climate and access to energy resources. However, this new undertaking pushes Wyoming into uncharted energy territory. Although the state stands as the nation’s third-largest net energy supplier, producing 12 times more total energy than it consumes (predominantly from fossil fuels), its electricity supply is ultimately finite.
While the partnership between Tallgrass and Crusoe has been made public, the ultimate user of this massive computing power remains undisclosed, fueling speculation across the tech industry. Questions have arisen regarding a potential connection to OpenAI’s ambitious “Stargate” AI infrastructure project, announced earlier this year. When directly asked by The Associated Press about the Cheyenne project’s link to Stargate, Crusoe spokesperson Andrew Schmitt remained non-committal. “We are not at a stage that we are ready to announce our tenant there,” Schmitt responded. “I can’t confirm or deny that it’s going to be one of the Stargate.”
It’s worth noting that OpenAI recently activated the first phase of a Crusoe-built data center complex in Abilene, Texas, in partnership with Oracle. Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, recently described the Texas facility as generating “roughly and depending how you count, about a gigawatt of energy,” deeming it “the largest data center—we think of it as a campus—in the world.” OpenAI has further committed to developing an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity through an agreement with Oracle, aiming for a total of over five gigawatts. However, the company has not revealed specific locations for these expansions, and Wyoming was not among the 16 states OpenAI had previously indicated it was exploring for data center sites earlier this year.