Wyoming Pursues $112 Million Data Center

In another code-named mystery project, Cheyenne, Wyoming is reported to be one of two finalists for a proposed $112 million data center.

Code named "Project Summit," the unknown Fortune 500 company will choose between Cheyenne and another Mountain West location in the next two to six weeks. The usual incentives and economic impact estimates follow this site selection story - as have become typical when large data center projects are scouting locations to build.

For Cheyenne, state officials are offering $10 million in grants, the project would create 40 jobs, and the Business Council approved a $5 million grant to subsidize the Project Summit data center's electricity and broadband Internet during the facility's first five years.

Randy Bruns, chief executive of Cheyenne LEADS, the city's economic development organization said that the mystery company noted that it could expand its operations eightfold over time. Bruns said that "having it located in Cheyenne would likely increase interest from other companies looking to build data centers." Wyoming Governor Matt Mead is considering a second $5 million grant to reimburse the company for infrastructure improvements, such as clearing the land and building roads to the data center.

The state of Wyoming has been actively promoting the state as a data center destination. Cheyenne has seen a number of projects in the area, from the success of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) data center to Verizon, who scrapped plans to build a data center near Laramie, Wyoming. The Project Summit data center would be built adjacent to the NCAR facility.