Key facts
- Google said the Wyoming site is its first data center in the state and will cost $17 billion.
- The project will be powered in part by a planned 702-megawatt fuel-cell development with carbon capture and storage.
- Bloom Energy will supply the fuel cells; Tallgrass Energy, Black Hills Energy, American Electric Power and Related Digital are partners.
- Ballotpedia counted 41 data center-related ballot measures voted on in the week of the midterms, with all but one against data centers.
- Bloom Energy shares fell more than 14% on worries that potential restrictions could hit the industry.
- Microsoft declined to expand a Texas data-center agreement with AI cloud provider Nscale, Bloomberg News reported.
Alphabet's Google said on November 5 that it will invest $17 billion to build its first data center in Wyoming. The company said the facility will be built in partnership with Tallgrass Energy, Black Hills Energy, American Electric Power and Related Digital.
Part of the site's power will come from a planned 702-megawatt fuel-cell development equipped with carbon capture and storage technology, Google said. Bloom Energy will supply the fuel cells.
The announcement came as political resistance to data center expansion grows following the US midterm elections. Of 41 data center-related ballot measures voted on in the week of the vote, all but one went against data centers, according to Ballotpedia. Wins by candidates opposed to data-center expansion in key Texas and Georgia races added to concerns that political resistance could complicate the industry's expansion, Reuters reported.
Wyoming is a Republican stronghold where Donald Trump won more than 70% of the presidential vote in 2024.
Separately, Microsoft declined to expand a Texas data-center agreement with AI cloud provider Nscale, and Bloomberg News reported earlier on November 5 that Microsoft planned to tighten oversight of some data-center projects from neocloud providers Nebius, IREN and Nscale. Shares of Bloom Energy fell more than 14% on worries that any potential restrictions could hit the industry.