By Alyssa Tolman
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — Data center developers and local utility officials addressed community concerns about water use, electricity costs, environmental impacts and more during the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon Friday. Representatives from Related Digital, Meta, Microsoft and Black Hills Energy spoke about the rapidly growing data center industry and its potential effects on Cheyenne.

The discussion comes as data center development continues to expand in the Cheyenne area, prompting questions from the public about how the industry will affect the city’s water and power resources, workforce and quality of life.

Water conservation

Water use has been one of the most prominent concerns surrounding data center development in Wyoming, a state where water resources are closely tied to agriculture and often run low.

Representatives from the companies said new technologies are allowing data centers to significantly reduce their water consumption.

Balint Simsik, senior vice president of development for Related Digital, said the company’s in-progress facility will use a closed-loop cooling system.

“Our water consumption is fairly limited,” Simsik said. “These closed-loop systems, you can think of them like a radiator in your car. Once you flush and fill them after the construction process, they essentially stay filled, and there’s no evaporation that happens.”

Simsik said the system is expected to require only limited water use for maintenance after it is initially filled.

He also said the building’s bathrooms, kitchens and other facilities used by employees will use more water than the cooling system.

Chris Mickey, the community development regional manager for Meta, said the company follows a philosophy of using less water, restoring more water and being transparent about its usage by also using closedloop cooling systems.

Meta has also committed to restoring more water than it consumes by 2030, he said, which does not mean creating new water, but improving the usability and quality of existing water resources.

Mickey said Meta publishes its water usage for each operating data center annually as part of its sustainability reporting. The Cheyenne data center’s usage will not be included until the facility becomes operational, he said.

Microsoft Senior Director of Government Affairs Jonathan Noble said water conservation has also been a priority for Microsoft.

Microsoft has operated data centers in Cheyenne for more than 14 years and historically has used evaporative cooling technology.

Because of Cheyenne’s climate, Nobel said Microsoft uses water for cooling less than 10% of the year. He also said the company’s water use in Cheyenne has declined even as its local data center operations have expanded.

Who pays for the power?

Electricity demand has been another major concern among city residents.

Rachel Sisneros, general manager of Wyoming operations for Black Hills Energy, said large data center customers are required to pay for investments needed to serve their new loads.

This can include new generation, substations, transmission infrastructure and other improvements, she said.

Sisneros said residential and traditional commercial customers are not expected to shoulder the costs associated with infrastructure built specifically to serve large data center operations.

“In our heavily regulated utility world, we would never have a data center be on over a consumer in the instance that something were to happen catastrophic on the grid,” Sisneros said. “Our job and our responsibility is to keep power to homes and businesses.”

In the event of a constrained grid, she said service to data centers would be curtailed.

Data centers are also generally required to maintain backup power resources, which can include on-site generation or power contracts like the Large Power Contract Service Tariff.

Microsoft officials said the company is committed to paying its share of energy costs and ensuring its operations do not increase rates for other customers.

Noble said Microsoft’s large-power contracts are structured so the company pays for the infrastructure needed to serve its facilities, and Meta representative Mickey said the company is also working to offset its electricity use through additional generation.

Environmental concerns

Panelists also reassured attendees that data center development can occur while still protecting Wyoming’s landscape.

Noble said Microsoft considers environmental impacts when selecting and developing sites, including avoiding sensitive areas and limiting lights and noise.

The company’s facilities generally are large, but low-profile, one-story buildings, he said.

Representatives from the other companies said their facilities similarly use downward-facing lighting, low-profile buildings and landscaping intended to reduce their visual impact, such as planting mature trees around the perimeter.

Will data centers still be needed in 40 years?

Panel members also were asked what they think would happen if technological advances eventually made today’s massive data centers obsolete.

Noble said he expects large data center buildings to remain necessary because the amount of digital information generated by consumers and businesses will continue to grow.

He referenced smartphones as an example. Even though modern smartphones are far more powerful than the computers used during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Noble said smartphones still depend on large-scale data centers for services ranging from GPS and online banking to social media and business applications.

Additionally, Noble said Microsoft facilities, and others like them, are designed to be continuously updated, with servers typically replaced every three to five years.

Mickey said Meta follows a similar approach, aiming to upgrade existing facilities rather than treating them as temporary structures.

“We’re really here for the long haul at all our data center communities, including Cheyenne,” Mickey said. “… The demand is growing, and it’s growing very fast, and the industry is really trying to keep up with that demand. I don’t think we’re going anywhere. We’re here to stay.”

The luncheon ended with organizers encouraging attendees to continue asking questions about data center development and getting their information directly from the companies, utilities and regulators overseeing them.

“We know the recent dialogue around data centers has been intense, and it is easy to rely on speculation,” said Chamber board member Tracy Wilson. “To move forward, we must prioritize accurate information over rumors.”

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