Thursday, JULY 31, 2025 |
Data centers used for Artificial Intelligence soon may consume more electricity in Wyoming than all the homes do, according to an article in the Associated Press.
The alarming comment occurred on Monday when the mayor of Cheyenne, Patrick Collins, announced plans for an AI data center that would power on with 1.8 gigawatts and scale up to 10 gigawatts.
The facility is a joint venture between energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and an AI data center developer, Crusoe.
The initial 1.8-gigawatt phase, consuming 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually, is more than five times the electricity used by every household in the state combined. At startup, the facility will require 91 percent of the 17.3 TWh currently consumed by all of Wyoming’s residential, commercial, and industrial sectors combined. At its full 10-gigawatt capacity, the proposed data center would consume 87.6 TWh of electricity annually—double the 43.3 Terr Watt Hours the entire state currently generates.
Cheyenne’s mayor reports the project will rely on its own dedicated gas generation and renewable energy sources.
The power-hungry company will create a shift in Wyoming. Currently, the state sends nearly 60 percent of the power that is generated here. Wind power companies even brag that the power generated here is sent out of state.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon bragged, “This is exciting news for Wyoming and for Wyoming natural gas producers.”
The proposed site for the new data center sits several miles south of Cheyenne near the Colorado border off US Route 85. State and local regulators still need to approve the project.
What corporate ventures will use the power remains unknown, although OpenAI’s Stargate appears to be the front runner. The company’s web site states that it intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years to build new AI infrastructure in the United States, deploying $100 billion immediately.
