officially committed to spend $17 billion on a data center campus near Cheyenne.
It’s called Project Tembo and will include four data center buildings, but it’s still unclear how exactly the community and state will benefit.
“ I would just love to see concrete plans for any of this,” said Jocelyn Wulf, data center campaign manager at Wyoming Outdoor Council, a nonprofit conservation advocacy group.
“To my eyes,” she continued, “this is extremely vague.”
When asked for clarification, a Google representative said the company will partner with local school districts and organizations on STEM education.
“We are collaborating closely with local labor organizations, trade associations, and state workforce programs to cultivate local talent pipelines,” Trystine Payfer, Public Affairs Manager for Google in Wyoming, added via email.
Payfer said the company is currently meeting with local Laramie County leaders and grassroots organizations to figure out where targeted grants could make a lasting impact. This comes after about 200 residents attended a community meeting and gave feedback, some positive, some negative.
Google also said it will continue to hold Community Days at the Cheyenne Children’s Museum, the first of which happened in mid-October.
“Our focus is to inspire interest in STEM activities and education pathways among Wyoming's youth,” Payfer said.
Google also said the project will generate “hundreds of millions of dollars" in local property taxes.
Still, Wulf is eager to hear more specifics about community benefits.
“They're saying all these things,” she said. “They can't necessarily be held to them. So that's something that worries me a little bit.”
She encourages data center companies to sign community benefit agreements so residents can make specific asks and hold companies accountable.
Uinta County is doing this with the company Prometheus Hyperscale, which could now give $60 million dollars for a community endowment, according to the latest draft of the agreement provided by Wulf. Other dollars could go to the Evanston Youth Club, Uinta County Senior Center and the Bridger Valley Community Center, as well as public safety infrastructure and local workforce training.
Other promises for the Google data centers near Cheyenne are that it will pay for 100% of the power it uses, and use carbon capture and storage to reduce emissions. The company says carbon will be stored at Tallgrass’ Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub.
Carbon capture technology is emerging as a key way for data centers to rely on fossil fuels, predominately natural gas, without emitting tons of carbon in the atmosphere. Many environmentalists say the companies should rely on renewable energy, such as wind and solar, instead.
