Sparsely populated Wyoming’s planned 10-gigawatt AI data center would double state’s power use

Cheyenne, Wyoming officials announced plans for a massive AI data center that would consume more electricity than all of the state’s homes combined, with initial power demands of 1.8 gigawatts scaling to 10 gigawatts at full capacity. The project, a joint venture between energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, would fundamentally transform Wyoming from a net energy exporter to a major consumer, requiring dedicated power generation to meet its unprecedented electricity demands.

The scale is staggering: The initial 1.8-gigawatt phase alone would consume 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually—more than five times the electricity used by every household in Wyoming combined.

• That figure represents 91 percent of the 17.3 TWh currently consumed by all of Wyoming’s residential, commercial, and industrial sectors combined.
• At full 10-gigawatt capacity, the data center would consume 87.6 TWh annually—double the 43.2 TWh the entire state currently generates.
• Wyoming is the least populous US state, making these energy demands particularly outsized relative to existing infrastructure.

How they’ll power it: The project will rely on dedicated gas generation and renewable energy sources rather than drawing from the public grid, according to Mayor Patrick Collins and company officials.

• This approach is necessary because drawing such massive amounts of power from the existing grid would be untenable.
• The energy demands represent a fundamental shift for Wyoming, which currently sends nearly 60 percent of its generated power to other states.

Where it fits in Wyoming’s energy landscape: Cheyenne has attracted major tech companies since 2012, but this project pushes the state into uncharted territory.

• Microsoft and Meta have operated facilities in the area due to Wyoming’s cool climate and energy access.
• While Wyoming is the nation’s third-biggest net energy supplier, producing 12 times more total energy than it consumes, its electricity supply remains finite.
• Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon praised the project’s potential benefits, saying “This is exciting news for Wyoming and for Wyoming natural gas producers.”

The mystery tenant: Tallgrass and Crusoe haven’t revealed who will ultimately use the computing power, leading to speculation about potential connections to major AI projects.

• When asked if the Cheyenne project was part of OpenAI’s Stargate AI infrastructure initiative, Crusoe spokesperson Andrew Schmitt remained noncommittal: “We are not at a stage that we are ready to announce our tenant there. I can’t confirm or deny that is going to be one of the Stargate.”
• OpenAI recently activated a Crusoe-built data center in Abilene, Texas, which generates “roughly and depending how you count, about a gigawatt of energy” and represents what the company calls “the largest data center—we think of it as a campus—in the world.”

OpenAI’s expansion plans: The AI company has committed to developing significant additional data center capacity through partnerships.

• OpenAI has an agreement with Oracle, a cloud computing company, to develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity.
• Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, told the Associated Press: “We’re now in a position where we have, in a really concrete way, identified over five gigawatts of energy that we’re going to be able to build around.”
• However, Wyoming was not among the 16 states where OpenAI said it was searching for data center sites earlier this year.

What’s next: The proposed site sits several miles south of Cheyenne near the Colorado border, and while regulatory approvals are still needed, officials express optimism about a quick timeline.

• Mayor Collins said “I believe their plans are to go sooner rather than later.”
• State and local regulators still need to approve the project before construction can begin.