Google is building its first data center in Wyoming, a $17 billion investment in Laramie County near Cheyenne, the company said Thursday. The project will draw much of its power from a 702-megawatt fuel cell development with carbon capture and storage, which Google called the largest planned development of its kind to date.
American Electric Power is developing the 702MW fuel cell project under contract with Google. The fuel cells, which run on natural gas, will be made in the US by Bloom Energy. Google is also sourcing power from gas generators operated by Tallgrass Energy and Black Hills Energy.
Carbon dioxide from the fuel cells will be captured and stored permanently underground at Tallgrass's nearby Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub, which Google said will capture a large majority of the project's emissions. The deal follows Google's first US carbon capture project, announced last fall, and brings the company's total contracted carbon capture capacity to nearly 1 gigawatt.
Key facts
- 01Google is investing $17 billion in its first Wyoming data center, in Laramie County near Cheyenne.
- 02AEP is developing a 702MW fuel cell project with carbon capture for the site, using Bloom Energy fuel cells.
- 03Captured CO2 will be stored at Tallgrass's Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub; Google's contracted CCS capacity nears 1GW.
- 04Construction is expected to support more than 8,800 jobs statewide, with about 2,500 onsite at peak.
- 05The facility will be air-cooled, and Google says it will pay for 100% of the power it uses.
Google and Tallgrass are also running a front-end engineering and design study to evaluate adding carbon capture to Tallgrass's combined-cycle gas turbines, which would extend the approach beyond the fuel cells.
The data center will be air-cooled to minimize strain on local water resources, according to Google. The company said it is also investing in local water replenishment efforts under its water stewardship commitments.
On cost, Google said it will pay for 100% of the power the site uses and cover the infrastructure needs driven directly by its growth.
Google expects construction to support more than 8,800 jobs statewide, including roughly 2,500 skilled onsite jobs at peak and about $610 million in average annual labor income. Once operating, the facility is expected to support more than 3,700 jobs annually, including 250 roles Google will create directly in Wyoming.
The company said the project will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes for Laramie County and School District 1. Google held a community meeting in downtown Cheyenne attended by more than 200 Laramie County residents and plans grants for STEM education, local entrepreneurs and skilled-trades training.
Google also formed a Community Council with Tallgrass Energy, Black Hills Energy, Related Digital, AEP and Bloom Energy to work on local issues as Cheyenne absorbs the project. Steve Walter, Google's vice president of global infrastructure and energy, announced the plan.
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