Developers in natural gas-rich Wyoming are read to tap that resource to help meet and attract the data center energy demand capturing attention and massive capital investment throughout the U.S.
Data center developer Prometheus Hyperscale is partnering with natural gas producer PureWest Energy LLC and carbon-capture technology firm Frontier Carbon Solutions to take a multi-sector approach to fueling and bringing data centers to Wyoming. Together, the three companies are aiming at developing carbon-neutral, flexible energy systems for data centers.
“This partnership represents an unprecedented opportunity to bridge the gap to a net-zero future using local resources,” said Trenton Thornock, Prometheus Hyperscale founder and CEO, in a statement. “Wyoming wins together when we leverage our natural resources and innovative spirit. PureWest’s verified low-carbon natural gas and Frontier’s advanced carbon capture and storage solutions enable us to build sustainable, next-generation data centers for the age of AI (artificial intelligence).”
PureWest, which is the largest producer in Wyoming, will be Prometheus Hyperscale’s preferred natural gas supplier under the agreement. Frontier will generate carbon credits by capturing biogenic carbon dioxide from various facilities across the Mountain West and transporting liquid CO2 to Frontier’s carbon sequestration facility in southwestern Wyoming.
“Scaled carbon removal unlocks tangible benefits across industries, and by integrating our Wyoming carbon storage solutions, we can help to create a blueprint for how to sustainably power data centers,” said Steve Lowenthal, co-CEO of Frontier.
Prometheus plans to build 1.2 GW in data center capacity in Wyoming. The first phase of the buildout is aiming to utilize more than 500,000 metric tons of carbon removal per year, according to the release.
The first project under development is the flagship hyperscale data center (rendering above) in Evanston, Wyoming. The facility is expected to come online in 2026.
Prometheus Hyperscale is also developing data center projects in Colorado and Arizona.
Forecasts on near-future data center energy demand growth vary, but nearly all agree that dozens of new GW in load will be forthcoming and stressing out the current utility grid portfolio. A September 2024 report by research firm McKinsey & Company predicts that data center load, driven by generative AI demands, will increase threefold to about 80 GW by 2030.
Wyoming is the least populated of any of the United States, but its energy profile is deep in coal and natural gas reserves, producing 12 times more energy than it consumes. It ranks in the top 10 for both natural gas reserves and marketed natural gas production.
PureWest Energy’s natural gas asset base includes more than 108,000 net mineral acres in the Pinedale Field of Sublette County, Wyoming. In 2023 it produced about 650 million cubic feet per day, according to the company.