Wyoming is making a calculated bet that it can capture a significant share of the exploding AI data center market by offering something most states cannot: abundant, affordable electricity paired with advanced nuclear power infrastructure. At a closed-door summit in Jackson on April 1-2, 2026, roughly 50 senior leaders from hyperscale technology companies, energy developers, and government agencies will convene to assess whether Wyoming can compete with Texas, Ohio, and other states racing to host the next generation of AI infrastructure .

Why Is Wyoming Suddenly in the AI Data Center Conversation?

Wyoming was not on the AI data center map until recently. A March 2026 report from Blackridge Research identified Wyoming as a potential expansion site for the Stargate AI infrastructure project, a joint venture of OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. That mention placed Wyoming alongside Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in what has become a fierce competition among states .

The stakes are enormous. According to Bloom Energy's 2026 Data Center Power Report, total U.S. data center load capacity is projected to reach roughly 150 gigawatts by 2028, nearly double the 80 gigawatts from 2025 . That explosive growth is driven by artificial intelligence (AI) companies and cloud providers that need massive computing infrastructure to train and run large language models (LLMs), which are AI systems trained on billions of words to understand and generate human language.

The five largest U.S. cloud and AI infrastructure providers, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google's parent company), Amazon, Meta, and Oracle, have collectively committed to spending as much as $690 billion in 2026 on AI infrastructure alone . That capital mobilization is reshaping where data centers get built, and power availability has become the primary constraint.

"Essentially, the only reason why data centers are not popping up absolutely everywhere is because the United States does not have enough electricity to power these data centers," said Paul Bonifas, co-host of the summit and director of 9H and GeneCo Datacenters.

Paul Bonifas, Co-host of Data x Power Summit and Director of 9H and GeneCo Datacenters

What Specific Advantages Does Wyoming Offer?

Wyoming's pitch to tech giants rests on a combination of tangible competitive advantages that few other states can match. The state has already begun positioning itself as a destination for data center investment by offering a package of incentives and natural advantages .

• Electricity Cost and Supply: Wyoming exports almost all of its electricity, meaning the state has surplus generation capacity. Consuming electricity locally for data centers would allow Wyoming to retain economic value rather than exporting power to other states.
• Advanced Nuclear Power: TerraPower, the Bill Gates-backed advanced nuclear company, is building its Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming. This next-generation nuclear facility provides a stable, carbon-free power source that data centers require for continuous operation.
• Climate and Cooling: Wyoming's semi-arid climate averages 45 degrees Fahrenheit with low humidity, enabling free-air cooling for data centers most of the year. This dramatically reduces the energy cost of cooling, which typically accounts for 30 to 40 percent of a data center's operating expenses.
• Tax Incentives and Permitting: Wyoming has no state corporate or personal income tax, and the state offers streamlined permitting processes for industrial projects. At least 36 states now offer tax incentives to attract data center projects, but Wyoming's combination of tax advantages and fast permitting is distinctive.
• Workforce and Infrastructure: Wyoming has an industrial workforce experienced in pipelines, power plants, and high-voltage transmission. The state also has vast parcels of land near transmission corridors in the lowest-population-density state in the Lower 48.

The summit itself reflects the seriousness of Wyoming's effort. Four of the seven "Magnificent Seven" NASDAQ companies, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon Web Services, will have representatives in the room . The U.S. Department of Energy is sending its principal deputy undersecretary for science, and EPA Region 8 Administrator Cyrus Western will participate in a panel on federal policy and the regulatory environment.

How Are States Competing for Data Center Investment?

The competition for AI data center investment has become a zero-sum game among states. At least 36 states now offer tax incentives to attract data center projects, but a backlash is growing in tandem. At least 12 states have filed moratorium bills this legislative cycle to pause new data center construction while they assess impacts on electric grids, water supplies, and public health .

Wyoming's approach differs from the tax-incentive-heavy strategies of other states. Instead of competing primarily on tax breaks, Wyoming is positioning itself as the state where data centers can actually be built because the power infrastructure exists or is being built. This is a fundamentally different argument.

"The question, it's not, 'Will the next data center be built?' The question we have to ask ourselves is, 'Will it be built in Wyoming?'" said Paul Bonifas.

Paul Bonifas, Co-host of Data x Power Summit and Director of 9H and GeneCo Datacenters

Governor Mark Gordon will deliver remarks at the summit's opening night, emphasizing Wyoming's historical role as the backbone of America's energy supply. In a statement to Cowboy State Daily, the governor's office previewed his remarks, noting that Wyoming has been powering the nation for more than a century and is now answering a call with "the kind of scope and urgency this nation saw in the early 1940s, as we powered up to face our adversaries in a world at war" .

What Does This Mean for Wyoming's Future?

If Wyoming successfully attracts major AI data center investment, the economic implications could be transformative. Data centers bring high-paying jobs, stable tax revenue, and long-term capital investment. However, the state is also being careful to balance growth with environmental and community concerns.

Jake Hochard, the Knobloch Associate Professor of Conservation Economics at the University of Wyoming's Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and co-host of the summit, emphasized the scale of what is at stake. He noted that Wyoming can play an important role "in what is probably the greatest capital mobilization in the history of the planet," which is happening right now around AI infrastructure .

The summit grew out of a smaller gathering at the Ucross Foundation last summer, where organizers identified four priority areas for Wyoming: critical minerals, wildlife management, water management, and data center buildouts. Of those four, data center buildouts generated the most interest from both industry and government .

The three headline sponsors of the summit, CoreWeave, TerraPower, and Torus, represent the ecosystem Wyoming is building. CoreWeave is an AI-focused cloud operator developing a data center with Related Digital outside of Cheyenne. TerraPower is building the Natrium reactor. Torus builds next-generation modular power plants including flywheel and battery energy storage systems. Together, they represent a coordinated effort to create the power and infrastructure ecosystem that AI data centers require .

The outcome of the Jackson summit will signal whether Wyoming can move from being a candidate state to an actual destination for AI data center investment. Given the scale of capital commitments from tech giants and the urgency of the power constraint, Wyoming's window of opportunity may be narrow. The state that solves the power problem first will likely capture a disproportionate share of AI infrastructure investment in the coming years.