Wyoming - physically and financially a great place for data centers
I grew up in Wyoming and have lived and worked here my entire life. I’ve always known that Wyoming is a great place to live and to do business.
I’m proud to say this is truer than ever, for so many reasons - Wyoming’s boundless natural beauty, safe communities and business-friendly climate. This is especially true for businesses like data centers.
Our state and our company recognize just how essential data centers are for businesses. And we know what we have to offer them, both physically and financially. Cheyenne in particular is ideal for data storage and processing loads. Our elevation is 6,100 feet and the climate is semi-arid with an average annual temperature of 46.5 degrees. Our annual precipitation is about 16 inches.
Cheyenne straddles a convergence of regional and transcontinental fiber optic cables. It has at least six long-haul fiber providers within its footprint, resulting in an abundance of low-latency fiber.
It’s a perfect physical location for data centers.
On the financial front, the State of Wyoming offers data centers incentives like no personal state income taxes, no corporate income taxes, no inventory taxes and low property taxes. Wyoming passed legislation offering a sales tax exemption for purchases of qualifying equipment, including uninterruptible power supplies, back-up power generation, specialized heating and air conditioning equipment and air quality control equipment. The Wyoming Public Service Commission approved two innovative Black Hills Energy tariffs which allow us to negotiate electrical rates with qualifying customers. This has equipped us to offer competitive electricity pricing to new and existing data center customers.
On top of all of that, Black Hills Energy has something else a lot of companies are looking for - a focus and philosophy on growing our renewable energy capabilities. We’re agile in our ability to meet the changing needs of our customers. One of those needs is a shift to sustainable, renewable energy.
I know that talk of renewable energy isn’t always easy, especially in a state like Wyoming. I understand when some of my fellow Wyomians worry that the move toward creating more renewable energy options puts a target on the back of traditional energy sources like coal. But I can confidently say people have nothing to worry about - especially from Black Hills Energy.
We are taking a strategic and balanced approach to modernizing our generation portfolio. We’re doing it in a responsible way for our customers and with respect for my home state and our customers’ changing needs. And we’re keeping our customers’ costs within reason.
You can read more about our work on sustainability at blackhillsenergy.com/sustainability.
You can also read more about our Renewable Ready program, created specifically to provide large commercial and industrial customers the option of fulfilling up to 100% of their electricity needs with low-cost, utility-scale renewable energy resources direct from Black Hills Energy’s Corriedale Wind Energy Project. This is a subscription-based program that allows our customers access to renewable energy from a locally owned and operated wind facility just west of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
As you can see, we are committed to creating a cleaner energy future that will improve our customer’s lives.
Our company’s 2021 Integrated Resource Plan found that the future needs of our customers in Wyoming will be best met with a balanced mix of generation sources, including coal, natural gas, solar and wind. We are prepared to do just that. We also identified a potential for customer cost savings to be achieved through the expansion of company-owned transmission serving our customers.
I’m proud of this company’s adaptability as it adjusts to our customers’ everchanging needs and preferences in Wyoming. Our agility is just one more reason that Black Hills Energy is the company of choice to supply data centers their energy, and Wyoming is the state with the most to offer.