A massive data facility planned near Cheyenne may soon outpower every household in the state. Is Wyoming ready for the energy future AI demands?
Let’s just say this up front: AI is hungry. And in Cheyenne, Wyoming, it’s about to get fed in a big way.
On Monday, Cheyenne’s Mayor Patrick Collins shared details about a new AI data center that—if approved and built—would pull in more electricity than every single home in the state combined. Yes, you read that right.
And that’s just the start.
So, what’s going on in Wyoming?
This new project is a joint venture between Tallgrass, an energy infrastructure company, and Crusoe, a developer known for large-scale AI data centers. The facility is planned just a few miles south of Cheyenne, close to the Colorado border, off US Route 85.
To put its size in perspective:
- The first phase alone would require 1.8 gigawatts of power.
- That’s about 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year.
- For comparison? That’s more than five times what all Wyoming households use combined.
If it eventually scales to its full planned capacity of 10 gigawatts, it could consume around 87.6 TWh annually—double what the whole state of Wyoming currently generates.
Let that sink in. This single facility might one day use twice the electricity the entire state currently produces.
Is the grid ready for this?
Not really. Which is why it’s not going to tap into the public power grid the way other buildings typically do.
Instead, the companies behind the project say they’ll build out their own energy sources—mostly powered through local natural gas and renewables. Still, even generating this power independently shifts dynamics for a state that, up until now, exported about 60 percent of its electricity to other states.
Governor Mark Gordon sees opportunity here. In a statement, he said the project is good news for Wyoming’s natural gas producers. There’s definitely a local benefit baked into this massive build.
A bigger trend for Cheyenne
Cheyenne hasn’t been flying completely under the radar when it comes to data centers. Microsoft and Meta have already set up shop there, drawn by Wyoming’s cool climate and energy access. But this new project takes things to a much bigger level.
We don’t know yet who will actually use all this computing power. Neither Tallgrass nor Crusoe have named the tenant. That’s led to a swirl of speculation—especially about whether this could somehow be tied to OpenAI’s ambitious infrastructure initiative known as Stargate.
Crusoe’s spokesperson wasn’t ready to confirm or deny any link. “We are not at a stage that we are ready to announce our tenant there,” Andrew Schmitt told the Associated Press.
Still, it’s worth noting that in Texas, Crusoe is already working with OpenAI and Oracle to build what’s been called one of the largest data center campuses in the world—using about one gigawatt of power. According to OpenAI’s Chris Lehane, they’ve already lined up more than five gigawatts worth of future data center capacity elsewhere, though Wyoming wasn’t specifically named.
Why this matters
Wyoming is the least populous state in the U.S., but one of its largest net energy suppliers—producing 12 times more energy than it consumes. This project flips that script in some surprising ways.
It also taps into a broader conversation about AI and energy. As artificial intelligence gets embedded into everything from customer service to scientific research, the power behind the machines becomes a much bigger deal.
Wyoming may soon be the stage for testing how far we’re really willing to go to fuel the future of AI—without burning out our resources.
Keywords: Wyoming data center, AI energy use, Cheyenne AI project, Tallgrass Crusoe data center, AI electricity consumption, OpenAI Stargate, Wyoming natural gas, AI infrastructure Wyoming
