Ahead of the January legislative session, Wyoming lawmakers are moving forward with one of two proposed ways to regulate responsible water use as data center development grows across the state. During a meeting on Friday, the Select Water Committee considered a proposal for caps on water consumption for hyperscale data centers and a suggestion for further study of groundwater resources. The conversations come amidst significant data center development across the state in recent years. In Cheyenne, there are 10 existing data centers, with seven under construction and eight more in the planning phase, according to economic development non-profit Cheyenne LEADS. Two of these data centers began construction in the last three months, according to the nonprofit’s reports.

Other data center water use news:

• Wyoming Public Media: Petition challenging Cheyenne’s Microsoft data center fails
• Nevada Appeal (Carson City): Data centers will be hot topic at 2027 Nevada Legislature, forum participants say
• KRXI2: Reno pauses new data center approvals as officials weigh water, power rules