By Noah Zahn
Wyoming Tribune
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — Another data center broke ground in Cheyenne on Tuesday, starting a $1.2 billion development on 115 acres at Campstool Business Park.

Gov. Mark Gordon and Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins welcomed the developer, Related Digital of New York-based Related Companies, to Wyoming, praising the company for its technological innovations and offering thanks for its unanticipated community support.

The center will deliver up to 302 megawatts of IT capacity in total. The first phase, set to be complete by late 2026, will occupy 184,000 square feet on 36 acres and provide 88 MW to New Jersey-based Core-Weave, which specializes in providing cloud-based graphics processing unit infrastructure. Over 15 years, the project will contribute $250 million in tax revenue and generate 40 full-time jobs.

As data centers continue to pop up around the Cowboy State, especially in the southeast corner, Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau addressed the top two concerns many residents, elected officials and businesses typically have: water usage and energy consumption.

 

Water usage

Collins said data centers in Cheyenne currently use around 140 acre-feet of water per year, which is equivalent to 45.6 million gallons, which accounts for 1% of Cheyenne’s total water usage and 0.6% of water available to Cheyenne.

Related says its new development in Cheyenne will implement a low-impact cooling system, meaning the greatest water consumer on the site following construction will be the bathrooms, Blau said.

“Neighborhoods and communities are concerned that we’re going to use up all the water. So we decided we will only build self-contained cooling systems that do not use water,” he said. “The water consumption in this data center will come from about six bathrooms, less than the restaurant we had dinner in last night.”

Gordon praised the company, saying this kind of innovation will support President Donald Trump’s goal of advancing the United States’ position in the global artificial intelligence race.

“This is a data center that will not be using water, demonstrating that we can innovate rather than regulate our way into the future,” he said. “That is so exciting.”

 

Energy consumption

Concerning energy consumption, Collins said he is not worried that a price burden will fall to Cheyenne and Laramie County ratepayers.

This is because the energy provider, Black Hills Energy, has a large power contract service tariff that enables them to serve large-load data center customers in Wyoming without turning to ratepayers or taxpayers for support. Instead, the large-load customers must front 100% of the bill.

This might include something like a substation or a grid upgrade. If that is necessary, the developer, or Black Hills, will pay for that update simultaneously during construction. It cannot seek financial support from the public service commission or small businesses in the area.

“It’s making our grid more reliable, and it’s reducing the cost that you and I would have to pay because they are paying for it,” Collins said.

With the continued development of more data centers in the area, the mayor did not express concern for the immediate future of the market or for his constituents.

He said the low number of long-term jobs do not burden the housing market, the companies support the community through property taxes and personal property taxes, which help offset some lost potential revenue amid recent statewide property tax cuts and conversations of continued cuts continue among state legislators.

 

Community ties

Existing data center companies, like Microsoft and Meta, have provided philanthropic support for the community.

Related shocked Collins and groundbreaking attendees Tuesday morning when Blau went off script to announce a $3.5 million contribution to support 184 affordable housing units in Cheyenne.

“We said we’re going to enter into communities the right way. And that doesn’t just mean coming into a state like Wyoming, building a data center and leaving,” he said.

Blau said he was inspired after visiting with Collins over dinner the night before. The mayor told him about a statewide study that found Cheyenne would be short 5,000 to 7,000 units by 2030.

When hearing about the struggle for affordable housing in the community, Blau met with his partners to see what they could do.

Related Companies is one of the largest real estate firms in the United States, primarily building things like residential apartments and office buildings — only getting into the data center game a few years ago.

Given the company’s experience in the field, Collins said he is excited about both the donation and the expertise Related brings to the project.

The money will come in the form of grant funding for Cheyenne to provide to Utahbased property management company Watasch Group.

Collins said this has been in the works for three or four years but has never come to fruition because the city lacked funds. Watasch Group hopes to use 4% low-income housing tax credit dollars, which is not currently being used in Cheyenne.

With that, there needs to be local financial support because the rents are controlled federally. As it currently stands, that development would be on the west side of Converse Avenue between Storey Boulevard and Dell Range Boulevard and north of Carlson Street.

However, this commitment does not bind Related to the community. Blau said he and Collins share a similar concern brewing in the Wyoming Legislature’s interim session.

In August, Collins testified to the Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee against a bill draft that would remove a sales tax exemption for data centers in the state. In a report from the Wyoming Department of Revenue, two data centers in Wyoming averaged an exemption of more than $22.5 million in 2023.

Blau acknowledged that Wyoming is a great state to do business in but warned that future phases of the development could be at risk if this proposed legislation is realized, saying it would discourage companies that are interested from considering the Cowboy State.

“We’re hopeful that, working with the governor, that we can keep those abatements in place and continue to encourage new business to come to Wyoming,” he said.

For now, he said Related Digital does not have any other projects planned for Wyoming but it is willing to consider projects here in the future. For now, the focus is all on completing the first phase of this data center in around one year.