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Cheyenne: Social Distancing Since 1867

wyoming
Account Manager Black Hills Energy

With 97,818 square miles to share, Wyoming is good on space. To our fellow 586,000 Wyomingites, what some call social distancing, we know as simply enjoying the expanse of nature in our own backyards.

But don’t let the fact that we have wide open space fool you. Beneath our rich soil and blue skies is a modern infrastructure that is a testament to Wyoming’s pioneering founders. Cheyenne’s town charter was accepted by the Dakota Territorial Legislature in 1867. From its humble beginnings as the kind of Wild West town you see in the movies, to the modern hub for mission critical facilities it is today, Cheyenne has always been a place where anyone with a strong work ethic and adventurous spirit can thrive.

Our elevation and semi-arid climate made Cheyenne a prosperous ranching area starting in the 1870s. Today, those same conditions are ideal for data storage and processing loads. According to the National Weather Service, Cheyenne’s average annual temperature is 46.5 degrees, and we average only 10 days per year when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees.

In 1875 the Black Hills gold fields opened, and Cheyenne thrived, becoming the wealthiest city per capita in the world by 1882. Our merchants supplied food and supplies to the miners and prospectors on their way to gold fields, and the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Company transported passengers and cargo from the railroad to the mines. Our geographic location is still a strategic advantage, offering mission critical facilities geographic diversity for their fleets and access to a unique junction of critical infrastructure.

Here are a few more reasons to check out Cheyenne for your next data center site:

1.      Modern telecommunication infrastructure – Cheyenne sits astride an unparalleled convergence of regional and transcontinental fiber optic cables. Much of metro Denver’s digital traffic enters national backbones at Cheyenne and multiple national carriers have a point presence in Cheyenne. There are at least six long haul fiber providers within the Cheyenne footprint.

2.      A business climate that helps your bottom line – The State of Wyoming has been very supportive of data centers, providing a pro-business tax climate: no personal state income tax, no corporate state income taxes, no inventory taxes and low property taxes. They have also provided for a number of statutorily-authorized incentives designed to support the data storage and processing industries. In 2010, the state first approved legislation for a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase and rental of qualifying computer equipment including HVAC and UPS. Wyoming also offers data center cost reduction grants to reimburse utility expenses over three years and has a program to supply data centers with up to $4,000 per employee for training. Plus, data centers are exempt from Industrial Siting Permits, shaving $500K and 18 months off new projects.

3.      Proven success – The new Cheyenne supercomputer at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center is used by more than 2,200 scientists from 300 universities and completes 5.34 quadrillion calculations per second. Further, according to the Wyoming Business Council, Microsoft has expanded in Cheyenne five times and has invested over $1 billion here since 2012. The Business Council also indicates that Green House Data recently invested $35 million in its latest expansion in Cheyenne.

4.      An energy partner you can count on – We do more than provide the electrons to fuel your facility. We take our responsibility to deliver safe, reliable service seriously. We’ll come along side you to develop individualized solutions to help your business.

Learn more about what Cheyenne can offer your next location.