Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon issued an executive order Wednesday directing state agencies to coordinate efforts to ensure that a boom in data center development here doesn’t raise electrical rates for existing customers, harm communities, degrade natural resources or threaten water supplies.
Gordon signed Executive Order 2026-03, “Data Centers the Wyoming Way,” Wednesday morning. Effective immediately, the five-page order outlines principles “to ensure Wyoming remains competitive in attracting investment while protecting ratepayers, natural resources, local communities and Wyoming’s way of life,” the governor’s office wrote.
The order comes amid rising concern about the pace of data center development in Wyoming, as well as the potential impacts. Those worries have spurred local pushback on new projects and even temporarily spurred talk of a moratorium in Cheyenne.
“As America races to build the infrastructure needed to support advanced computing, artificial intelligence and our nation’s rapidly growing digital economy, Wyoming is uniquely positioned to lead,” Gordon said in a prepared statement. “But we will do it the Wyoming way. We welcome investment, jobs and economic opportunity while protecting our communities, our natural resources and our citizens from unintended costs.”
The order establishes a “Wyoming Data Center Development Framework” that, among other things, will “encourage the use of advanced technologies and best practices that minimize water consumption and protect water quality” and “encourage open and continual communication regarding proposed developments and provide meaningful opportunities for public participation.”
It also calls on developers to “demonstrate a commitment to the communities in which they operate through local partnerships, charitable contributions, workforce and housing investment and responsible corporate citizenship.”
State agencies were advised to provide the governor with recommendations within 60 days on potential strategies to align with the order.
Clouds of anxiety
Digital heavy hitters such as Microsoft and Meta have vastly expanded plans for computing centers in Wyoming, particularly in and around Cheyenne, spiking anxiety among local residents about the phenomenal scale of development that could triple Wyoming’s electrical demand.
Like many communities across the nation, Cheyenne recently considered a one-year moratorium on new data center development amid calls to “slow down” what many residents say is a breakneck speed of massive development. Despite concerns over water, electric rates and whether the wave of digital buildout might stress local services, the Cheyenne City Council voted the measure down 8-1.
Council members also heard from dozens of residents, including union construction workers, who lauded the development as an opportunity to make living wages that allow them to remain in the community.
“Until Meta ramped up and brought all of us home, all of these guys from Casper, Cheyenne, South Greeley, Laramie and other parts of the state were in a completely other state,” Matthew Miles, a journeyman pipefitter with United Association Local 192, told the council last week. “[They were] away from their families, away from anybody they cared to share life with, trying to earn money to support not just their family, but the town they live in.”
It is possible to encourage the industry to set up shop in Wyoming while still demanding that companies play by local rules, Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins said. His office insists that new data facilities use closed-loop cooling systems to limit water use, as well as direct contracts with the local electric utility to ensure their power demands don’t affect other ratepayers.
“So we’re not allowing people to use water in an irresponsible way,” Collins told WyoFile. “I think a lot of things that we’re doing are reflected in that executive order that the governor signed.”
Meantime, Wyoming lawmakers are also seeking assurances that the digital gold rush won’t drain the arid state’s water resources or harm electric ratepayers. At the Legislature’s Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee meeting later this week in Casper, members will continue to deliberate on ways to help electric utilities meet the industry’s massive power demand while protecting regular ratepayers.
