When it comes to data centers, residents need more information

Bring up the topic of data centers with some local residents, and they’ll tell you they have plenty of questions and more than a little angst about how quickly they seem to be popping up all around Cheyenne.

In fact, many of these folks are calling for a minimum 12- to 18-month moratorium on the approval, permitting and construction of any new data centers, data center expansions or associated large-scale power-generation facilities in Laramie County.

At recent local government meetings and on social media, they argue that they only learn about these facilities after their construction is virtually guaranteed.

And they have a growing list of other concerns, including:

• They use a lot of Wyoming’s increasingly limited water supply.
• They cause residential electricity rates to rise.
• They create noise, light and air pollution.
• They have a negative impact on property values for those who live nearby.
• They get huge tax breaks from the state that other types of businesses don’t get.
• They bring in people from outside of Wyoming and don’t create jobs for local residents.
• They take away from the rural nature of the capital city and the surrounding area.

The problem is, most of these concerns simply aren’t valid, thanks to the work that’s been done by officials to prevent negative local impacts. The real issue is that local economic development officials and government leaders aren’t doing a good job of communicating with residents about projects before the shovels hit the ground and the giant buildings start taking shape.

If you get them one-on-one, these leaders will tell you it just seems like large-scale facilities owned by Microsoft, Meta and the like are popping up overnight. In reality, data centers have been around for two decades, new ones take years to develop, and there are many hoops they must jump through to ensure they’re complying with local and state regulations.

These leaders also have answers for nearly every other concern, if only people will listen:

• Closed-loop cooling systems limit the amount of water needed by these facilities to less than 2% of the city’s overall annual water usage.
• Thanks to the large-scale user tariff developed by Black Hills Energy more than a decade ago, owners of these facilities are required to cover 100% of the cost of acquiring the energy needed to operate their facilities, thereby ensuring they don’t have an impact on rates paid by homeowners and other businesses.
• These projects actually increase property values as more jobs cause the value of homes to rise throughout the community as demand for housing continues to grow.
• While it’s true the state waives sales tax on the purchase of the computer equipment that goes into data centers, that’s offered as an incentive to get companies to build in the Cowboy State, rather than one of many other states that offer similar tax breaks. Data center owners pay millions each year in commercial property tax, sales tax on energy purchased and other fees, not to mention the charitable donations they make that help fund local amenities residents have sought for years.
• Created in partnership with Microsoft, Laramie County Community College has a Datacenter Specialist Program that offers training to get local students ready for entry-level careers in data centers and other businesses that need computer technicians. As a result, lifelong Wyoming residents are employed in these facilities.
• Not all data centers are housed in gigantic warehouse-sized facilities. Of the 12 currently in operation, some are small enough to be housed in downtown buildings. And all of the large-scale operations are currently located in previously established industrial parks.

Two major issues to address

So, is this simply a matter of NIMBYism? Are the people who are most upset about data center development the ones who don’t want them anywhere near where they live or don’t like the way they look as they drive into town?

That may be true to some extent (and we understand their concerns), but we think there are two bigger issues that need to be addressed immediately — transparency and long-range planning.

Concerned citizens are right to say they aren’t getting enough information about data centers. That applies to both projects in the various planning stages and those that have been here for years.

Local economic development officials at Cheyenne LEADS should work with Cheyenne, Laramie County and maybe even state officials to develop a single website where people can get the latest information about data centers — those that are operational, those under construction and the ones in the planning stages.

This site needs to be updated on a regular basis with the latest publicly available information, including location, size, ownership, employment, water usage, taxes being paid, infrastructure funded and charitable contributions made by the company, etc.

Such a single, reliable source of information could help quell the fear caused by unvetted information being tossed about. Are there really 70 more data centers coming to Laramie County? If so, how big will they be? Where will they be located? How much additional water will they use, and will that put too much strain on our current supply?

Are there any plans to cap the number of data centers built here? How will we know if we’ve exceeded our capacity? Has anyone studied potential negative health or environmental effects? These and other questions need to be answered in a direct, no-nonsense way in a format that allows residents to submit follow-up questions and engage in ongoing dialogue.

Equally important is an updated Plan Cheyenne master plan, which would give residents some say in where these facilities may be built in the future and what areas need to be protected from such development. Without it, fear continues to build that they could pop up just about anywhere.

What’s causing the sudden opposition?

Are foreign interests that want to prevent the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S. behind this growing dissent? It’s possible, but not likely. We believe it’s a confluence of local factors that include:

• A recent announcement by Microsoft that it plans to triple its footprint in the county.
• A request by owners of the Cox ranch property west of Cheyenne off Happy Jack Road to annex 1,260 acres into the city and turn it into a business park, especially after it wasn’t initially revealed that a data center facility developer was interested in building there.
• Proposed development of an 800-unit temporary workforce housing development that could house as many as 5,600 workers south of Cheyenne.
• In-progress construction of the Meta data center in south Cheyenne, the Related Digital data center on the east side of town, and the Project Jade data center/power plant and Cowboy Solar project south of town, the size of which have taken some people by surprise.

Coupled with a recent increase in national media attention on the explosive growth and negative impact of data centers in other parts of the country, it’s no surprise local residents are starting to push back. The fact that some local and state elected officials are spreading misinformation at public meetings isn’t helping.

In case local officials haven’t gotten the message yet, “trust us” isn’t going to cut it any longer. They need to get out in front of the issue and provide the facts early and often.

While we disagree with calls for a moratorium on data center construction, we wholeheartedly support those who demand more information.

Ultimately, though, as much as some residents may not like it, it’s likely better to build data centers in Wyoming, which has an abundance of energy, plenty of empty land that’s not being used for anything else, and lower air temperatures that will help reduce the need for water and other methods to keep computer equipment cool.

The key is doing it in a careful, systematic way that benefits the state, its finances and those who live here … and keeps residents involved and informed along the way.

Done right, data centers could be to Laramie County what coal and coal-bed methane has been to Campbell County, trona mining has been for Sweetwater County, and tourism is for Teton and Park counties. Only then may these growing concerns be seen as a golden opportunity.

THIS EDITORIAL was written by Managing Editor Brian Martin with input from members of the WTE Editorial Board. Have feedback for us? Drop us a line via email to opinion@wyomingnews.com.