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Google buys Crusoe's Wyoming data center site

Google buys Crusoe's Wyoming data center site

Built World

The $17 billion campus is Google's first in Wyoming and ends Crusoe's role in a project it never filled.

Yesterday: Crusoe confirms Google acquired the site

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Crusoe spent more than a year assembling land, permits and a power plan for a 700-acre data center campus in southeast Wyoming. It never signed the tenant the project needed. On November 6, Google bought the site.

Google will spend $17 billion to build its first Wyoming data center there. The campus is designed around 702 megawatts of fuel cells with carbon capture, which Google calls the largest planned project of its kind. The transfer shows which companies can now carry AI infrastructure: the ones that can fund construction before a customer signs.

Why it matters

Building AI data centers on speculation is getting harder. Google can fund a $17 billion campus itself; Crusoe needed a tenant first.

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Key Indicators

$17B
Google's Wyoming investment
Announced November 5, 2026, for the Laramie County campus.
702 MW
Fuel cell capacity with carbon capture
The largest planned commercial-scale fuel cell project of its kind, per Google.
700 acres
Campus footprint
The site plan submitted to Laramie County covers about 700 acres.
6 GW
Crusoe's contracted capacity
Crusoe says it has more than 6 gigawatts under contract and over 40 gigawatts in its pipeline.
$30.9B
Crusoe's valuation
The Denver developer's reported valuation before the Wyoming sale.
4
Data center buildings in revised plan
Down from five under Crusoe, with about a million fewer square feet.

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People Involved

CL
Chase Lochmiller
Co-founder and chief executive of Crusoe
Leading Crusoe after selling the Wyoming site to Google
 Sundar Pichai
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive of Google and Alphabet
Overseeing Google's $17 billion Wyoming buildout

Organizations Involved

Google
Google
Technology company
Owner and future operator of the Wyoming campus

Alphabet's search and cloud unit, now one of the largest builders of AI data centers.
CR
Crusoe
AI infrastructure developer
Sold Wyoming site; developing Google campus near Amarillo

Denver-based developer that prepares sites, secures power and builds data centers for AI workloads.
TE
Tallgrass Energy
Energy infrastructure company
Power developer for the Wyoming campus

Colorado-based energy company developing generation and carbon storage for the campus.
American Electric Power
American Electric Power
Investor-owned electric utility
Contracted for the 702 MW fuel cell project

Large utility holding company contracted for the campus's fuel cell development.
Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy
Fuel cell manufacturer
Supplying fuel cells for the campus

Makes solid-oxide fuel cells that convert natural gas into electricity without combustion.
Black Hills Energy
Black Hills Energy
Utility
Power supplier for the Wyoming campus

Utility that will supply power from gas generators it operates.

Timeline

2025 November 2026

8 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Crusoe confirms Google acquired the site

    Latest Deal

    Terms are not disclosed; Crusoe says its pre-development work is complete.

  2. Google announces $17 billion Wyoming data center

    Announcement

    Google says it will build its first Wyoming data center with Tallgrass, Black Hills, AEP and Related Digital.

  3. Google presents Project Tembo to Laramie County

    Permitting

    Google pitches the 700-acre campus under a new project name.

  4. Crusoe raises $3.9 billion

    Funding

    The Wyoming setback does not stop Crusoe from raising a new round.

  5. Laramie County receives scaled-back site plan

    Permitting

    Google's plan cuts one building and about a million square feet.

  6. Bloomberg reports Google will take over the site

    Report

    The sale is first reported in June, months before it is confirmed.

  7. Crusoe abandons the Wyoming project

    Development

    Crusoe exits before signing an anchor tenant; word reaches Laramie County months later.

  8. Crusoe and Tallgrass announce Wyoming AI campus

    Announcement

    The project, later called Project Jade, is planned to scale to 10 gigawatts.

Scenarios

1

Google's Wyoming campus starts serving traffic in 2028

Possible Resolves by Jan 31, 2029

Discussed by: Google's November 2026 announcement and Laramie County planning documents

Google said a portion of the campus's data halls will operate in the second half of 2028, with full build by the end of 2031. Hitting that date depends on fuel cell deliveries, transmission connections and county approvals.

2

Construction slips past 2028

Possible Resolves by Q2 2029

Discussed by: TechCrunch and Bloomberg reporting on cost and timeline concerns

Crusoe's version of the project reportedly raised concerns about cost and construction timeline. If fuel cell supply, grid connections or local opposition slow the build, Google's first Wyoming data center could miss its 2028 target.

3

Crusoe sells another pre-development site to a hyperscaler

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: AInvest analysis of the neocloud business model

Crusoe has more than 40 gigawatts in its pipeline. If the Wyoming pattern repeats, it may prepare more sites and hand them to the companies that can fund construction.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1998–2001

Telecom fiber overbuild (1998–2001)

Companies including Global Crossing, Level 3 Communications and Williams Communications laid thousands of miles of long-haul fiber, betting that internet traffic would grow fast enough to fill it. Much of the capacity sat unused.

Then

Global Crossing and Williams Communications filed for bankruptcy in 2002.

Now

The glut pushed fiber prices down and wiped out investors, but the cable later carried the broadband boom.

Why this matters now

Crusoe's Wyoming plan was a build-first, find-a-tenant-later bet. Google, which can fund construction without a signed lease, bought the asset instead.

September 2024

Microsoft and Constellation restart Three Mile Island (2024)

Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement to buy power from Constellation Energy's planned restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Pennsylvania. The 835-megawatt reactor had closed in 2019.

Then

The deal gave the plant a financial backer and became a template for tech companies contracting directly with power producers.

Now

Other hyperscalers announced similar nuclear and gas deals, shifting data center power procurement from utilities to direct contracts.

Why this matters now

Google's Wyoming campus follows the same pattern: a hyperscaler arranging its own generation, here 702 megawatts of fuel cells with carbon capture, rather than waiting for a developer to deliver.

Sources

(7)
+1
Crusoe TechCrunch Reuters via Investing.com Google County 17 Bloomberg Law AInvest