The data center fight in Cheyenne, Wyoming
As of October 1, 2026, Cheyenne, Wyoming rejected a data center moratorium (action taken May 27, 2026).
Status is derived, not stored — a pause with a documented end date flips to Expired on its own — and the source is right next to the claim.
Status today
12-month proposal voted down 8–1 after 3.5 hours of public comment
SourceNews
read 2026-08-04
An expiry date is the earliest a pause could have ended — extensions are common, so confirm with the clerk before citing it.
The projects on the table
Meta Cheyenne — In review
Operator: Meta · Owner: Meta · Size: 152 MW
Chip types: B300. Epoch AI estimates ~152 MW.
Next: An application is in the record. Ask the planning office for the next hearing date and request formal notice.
Latest in the record
- 2026-07-20 — Meta/Goat Systems filed a six-page appeal disputing the source of the bacteria contamination, asking the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities for a contested-case hearing and a refund of the $10,000 fine. · source
- 2026-07-02 — The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities announced it would stop accepting industrial wastewater from data-center fill-and-flush and closed-loop cooling operations citywide following the Meta contamination incident. · source
- 2026-06-26 — The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities issued its first public statement on the contamination, about four months after the bacteria was first discovered, citing the Meta data center operator for 'serious noncompliance' with wastewater discharge standards and a $10,000 fine. · source
- 2026-03-24 — Investigators confirmed the same bacteria was present at Meta's predischarge storage tank, and Cheyenne's Board of Public Utilities revoked Goat Systems LLC's industrial discharge permit for the Meta data center. · source
- 2026-02-23 — The Wyoming Public Health Laboratory identified the bacteria found in Cheyenne's reclaimed water system as Cupriavidus gilardii, an unusual soil bacterium. · source
- 2026-01-15 — The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities discovered white bacterial colonies during routine wastewater system testing, later traced to Meta's Cheyenne Data Center contractor. · source
Full dated timeline on the project tracker.
Source. Read 2026-08-14.
Microsoft Cheyenne Expansion —
Operator: Microsoft · Acres: 3,200
Microsoft announced intent to acquire ~3,200 acres in southeast Cheyenne for a multiyear data-center expansion, building on its Black Hills Energy partnership.
Next: Already operating — the leverage now is enforcement: noise and water conditions, tax revenue tracking, and any expansion filing, which reopens the record.
Latest in the record
- 2026-08-07 — Referendum organizers submitted 3,275-plus signatures seeking a public vote to reverse the Microsoft annexation, exceeding the roughly 2,739 registered-voter threshold required to force a November ballot measure. · source
- 2026-07-20 — Opponents launched a referendum petition drive seeking to reverse the Cheyenne City Council 3,460-acre annexation vote, needing roughly 2,700 signatures within 20 days. · source
- 2026-07-14 — Reporting confirmed Cheyenne grew by 3,500 acres after the controversial Microsoft-related annexation vote following more than five hours of council discussion. · source
- 2026-07-13 — After a seven-hour public hearing with overwhelming resident opposition, the Cheyenne City Council passed Ordinance 4687 by a 6-3 vote, annexing roughly 3,460 acres into the city for Microsoft planned data center campus. · source
- 2026-07-06 — The Cheyenne City Council rejected a proposal to slow down the Microsoft land annexation process, clearing the way for a final vote. · source
- 2026-06-12 — Coverage explained Wyoming data center sales tax exemption, worth up to $22.6 million annually, and its extension through 2042. · source
Full dated timeline on the project tracker.
Recent news
7 stories tracked since 2026-05-14 across 6 outlets. 3× Local officials are moving to pause or block the project. 3× A community is pushing back on a nearby data center. Most recent: “Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes to consider data center ban on tribal land this weekend” (KGOU, 2026-09-30).
- Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes to consider data center ban on tribal land this weekend
- Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes to consider data center ban on tribal land this weekend
- Cheyenne City Council moves proposed Cox Ranch data center project toward final vote
- Wyoming's Top Election Official Warns Cheyenne City Council Over Annexation Petition
- Public hearing on proposed data center annexation fuels debate at City Council
- Full Speed Ahead For Cheyenne Data Centers As Council Rejects Moratorium
- Georgia 30 Million Gallon Water Grab Puts Cheyenne Data Centers Under New Scrutiny
Automated news aggregation, not human-verified — follow each link to the original outlet. Part of the story tracker, 7 headlines archived.
What to do next
- Questions to ask at the hearing — force specific answers onto the record.
- Estimate the impact — electricity, water, and rate pressure for any facility size in Wyoming.
- Model CBA clauses — copy-paste language communities have actually won.
- Wyoming briefing — rates, grid carbon, PUC contacts, and every fight in the state.
As of August 2026 (2m ago) · changes weekly — re-check before citing
Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.
Part of the U.S. data center moratorium tracker — open data, CC BY 4.0.