Google to Invest $17 Billion in Wyoming Data Center Despite US Backlash
The project includes a 702-megawatt fuel-cell development as opposition to data centers grows across the US.
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Google plans to invest $17 billion in its first data center in Wyoming, pressing ahead with its artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion despite growing political opposition to such projects across the US.
The company said on November 5 that the facility would be built in Laramie County in partnership with Tallgrass Energy, Black Hills Energy, American Electric Power (AEP) and Related Digital.
The project includes a planned 702-megawatt fuel-cell development contracted with AEP and supplied by Bloom Energy, Google said.
The system will generate electricity using natural gas, with carbon capture and storage intended to reduce emissions.
Google also plans to source electricity from gas generators operated by Tallgrass and Black Hills Energy, while exploring additional carbon-capture options.
The company said the data center would use air cooling to limit water consumption and that it would pay for the electricity and infrastructure required by its operations.
The investment comes as Alphabet sharply increases spending on AI infrastructure.
On its third-quarter earnings call, Alphabet maintained its 2026 capital expenditure forecast of $195 billion to $205 billion and said spending would rise significantly again in 2027.
Alphabet said the expansion is increasing depreciation and data-center operating costs, including energy expenses. The company reported negative free cash flow of $9.1 billion in the third quarter, driven partly by capital expenditure and investments in technical infrastructure.
The Wyoming project also arrives as data-center expansion faces greater political scrutiny over electricity demand, water use and infrastructure costs.
Reuters reported that 40 of 41 data-center-related ballot measures voted on during this week’s US midterm elections went against the industry, citing Ballotpedia.
The results have raised questions about whether opposition over electricity demand, water consumption and infrastructure costs could slow construction, even as technology companies commit billions of dollars to expanding AI capacity.
Google said the Wyoming facility would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in local property taxes. It did not disclose a construction timetable or the data center’s expected computing capacity.
