Wyoming is attempting to strike a balance between attracting investment in AI computing power and controlling resource consumption. Governor Mark Gordon has signed an executive order requiring state agencies to consider power, water, environmental, and community carrying capacity when reviewing large data center projects.
The executive order focuses on electricity and water.
This executive order, titled "Data Centers the Wyoming Way," applies to state government agencies involved in licensing, reviewing, regulating, and supporting large data center projects. The order requires agencies to assess water demand, environmental impact, workforce planning, and potential pressure on residential electricity prices while supporting project implementation.
The state government's stance goes beyond simply attracting investment. As states across the US vie for AI and advanced computing projects, Wyoming hopes to attract investment while avoiding excessive strain on local infrastructure from data centers.
Increased AI investment fuels interstate competition
The report mentions that Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are expected to invest a combined $650 billion in AI and data center infrastructure by 2026. These expenditures will primarily go towards cloud services, model training, and computing systems needed to run large-scale AI tools.
Against this backdrop, states with lower land and energy costs are facing increased competitive pressure. Wyoming hopes to attract some investment, but this order also sets forth key areas for review in advance, particularly the allocation of electricity and water resources.
There were also new developments at the federal level in the United States this week. On June 2, Trump signed an executive order covering advanced AI innovation, cybersecurity, and national security reviews.
Bitcoin mining companies are deepening their ties with AI businesses.
Wyoming has long been an attractive destination for Bitcoin mining companies due to its energy resources, land availability, and relatively favorable policies for digital assets. Now, as mining companies seek new revenue streams, AI and high-performance computing hosting are becoming increasingly popular expansion areas for these companies.
In 2024, CleanSpark stated that it had signed a 75 MW power contract in Wyoming and completed the acquisition of the state's first Bitcoin mining farm. The first site has a capacity of 30 MW and is expected to add more than 2 EH/s of computing power after it goes into operation; the second site is expected to add another 45 MW of power and approximately 3 EH/s of computing power.
Following the 2024 halving, block rewards decreased, prompting mining companies to accelerate their search for revenue streams beyond mining. Companies such as IREN, MARA Holdings, Cipher Digital, Hut 8, HIVE Digital, and TeraWulf have all explored AI or high-performance computing services.
These companies' existing power contracts, cooling systems, and data center sites built for Bitcoin mining also make it easier for them to enter the AI infrastructure market. Bernstein recently added TeraWulf and Cipher to its "Emerging AI Infrastructure" watchlist, indicating that Wall Street is viewing some mining companies as data infrastructure companies with power resources, rather than just crypto asset producers.
The Wyoming executive order did not directly name Bitcoin mining companies, but its approval framework could affect how mining companies, AI companies, and data center developers compete for electricity, land, and project permits in the state in the future.
