By\u00a0 MEAD GRUVER and MATT O\u2019BRIEN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) \u2014 An artificial intelligence data center that would use more electricity than every home in Wyoming combined before expanding to as much as five times that size will be built soon near Cheyenne, according to the city\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a game changer. It\u2019s huge,\u201d Mayor Patrick Collins said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With cool weather \u2014 good for keeping computer temperatures down \u2014 and an abundance of inexpensive electricity from a top energy-producing state, Wyoming\u2019s capital has become a hub of computing power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city has been home to Microsoft data centers since 2012. An $800 million data center announced last year by Facebook parent company Meta Platforms is nearing completion, Collins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest data center, a joint effort between regional energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, would begin at 1.8 gigawatts of electricity and be scalable to 10 gigawatts, according to a joint company statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A gigawatt can power as many as 1 million homes. But that\u2019s more homes than Wyoming has people. The least populated state, Wyoming, has about 590,000 people.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s a major exporter of energy. A top producer of coal, oil and gas, Wyoming ranks behind only Texas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania as a top net energy-producing state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accounting for fossil fuels, Wyoming produces about 12 times more energy than it consumes. The state exports almost three-fifths of the electricity it produces, according to the EIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this proposed data center is so big, it would have its own dedicated energy from gas generation and renewable sources, according to Collins and company officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gov. Mark Gordon praised the project\u2019s value to the state\u2019s gas industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is exciting news for Wyoming and for Wyoming natural gas producers,\u201d Gordon said in the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While data centers are energy-hungry, experts say companies can help reduce their effect on the climate by powering them with renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. Even so, electricity customers might see their bills increase<\/a> as utilities plan for massive data projects on the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The data center would be built several miles (kilometers) south of Cheyenne off U.S. 85 near the Colorado state line. State and local regulators would need to sign off on the project, but Collins was optimistic construction could begin soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI believe their plans are to go sooner rather than later,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n