Articles
Six surprising ways Cheyenne is right for data centers
When you hear “Cheyenne,” chances are you think about cowboys, rodeos and railroads. And while Black Hills Energy is proud of our western culture, you might be surprised by the “Magic City of the Plains” and all it has to offer.
Here are six ways Cheyenne is right for data centers.
- 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 currently six long haul fiber providers within the Cheyenne footprint.
- 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 several 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. Also, data centers are exempt from Industrial Siting Permits, shaving $500K and 18-months off new projects.
- Proven success – The 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. With Microsoft’s data center expansion and Meta’s plans for an $800 million, 715,000-square-foot data center, Cheyenne is a proven success story.
- Geographic diversity – A location in Wyoming offers mission critical facilities geographic diversity for their fleets.
- An energy partner you can count on – Black Hills Energy provides more than the electrons to power your facility. We take our responsibility to deliver safe, reliable service seriously. We’ll come alongside you to develop individualized solutions to help your business.
- Weather that works for you – According to the National Weather Service, Cheyenne’s average annual temperature is 46.5 degrees, and averages only 10 days per year when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees.
Learn more about what Cheyenne can offer your next location.