Wyoming
Data Center News Roundup: Meta Plans $800M Wyoming Facility, Google Misses Emissions Targets
With data center news moving faster than ever, we want to make it easy for industry professionals to cut through the noise and find the most important stories of the week.
The Data Center Knowledge News Roundup brings you the latest news and developments across the data center industry – from investments and mergers to security threats and industry trends.
To keep up to date with all things data centers, subscribe to the Data Center Knowledge newsletter to get content straight to your inbox.
Hyperscale Announcements
Meta has unveiled plans to develop a hyperscale data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Once complete, the $800 million, 715,000 sq ft campus will be the Facebook owner’s 21st data center in the US and 25th globally.
“Cheyenne stood out as an outstanding location for Meta to call home for a number of reasons,” the company said this week. “It provides good access to infrastructure and energy, it has a strong pool of talent, and we have found a great set of community partners that have helped us move this project forward.”
Regional news publication Cowboy State Daily has been keeping a close eye on Meta’s expansion in Wyoming. According to the paper, a $1.2 billion solar project is planned near the data center with the capacity to produce enough electricity to run 771,000 homes.
Elsewhere, Amazon will partner with the Australian government for a cloud data system to handle top secret information, in a move that’s aimed at improving the nation’s cyber capabilities.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles announced the partnership with Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud division, at a press conference in Canberra this week, saying the government would invest at least A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) over the next decade in the new system.
The location of the data centers and the nature of the information they will be holding weren’t disclosed.
In other news, Gulf Energy will spend $271 million to expand its existing data center facility in Bangkok, Thailand, AQ Compute has started the construction of a new sustainable data center in Barcelona, Spain, and Northern Data is considering a $16 billion IPO as it looks to expand its data centers.
For more of the latest data center developments around the world, check out our July roundup.
Falling Short
In other hyperscale news this week, Google said its emissions shot up by 48% over five years, as the company has infused artificial intelligence throughout many of its core products – making it harder to meet its goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2030.
Google’s annual sustainability report was released Tuesday (July 2) and covers the tech giant’s progress toward meeting its environmental goals. The company said its greenhouse gas emissions totaled 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent throughout 2023. This is 48% higher than in 2019, the company said, and 13% higher than in 2022.
Google said higher energy consumption at its data centers and emissions from its supply chain were to blame and said its push to add AI to its products could make it more difficult to reduce emissions going forward.
“As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” Google wrote in the report.
Cool Runnings
Data Center Knowledge recently sat down with Peter de Bock, head of the US Department of Energy’s ARPA-E initiative, who discussed the critical challenges of data center cooling.
As AI workloads surge, efficient thermal management has become pivotal. In this exclusive interview, de Bock discusses the opportunities and hurdles impacting the COOLERCHIPS initiative, which aims to cut typical data center cooling energy to under 5%.
“As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” de Bock said.
Check out the full article to learn more.
Internet Speed Record Broken
And finally, an international team of researchers has set a new world record for the world’s fastest internet speed – at a blistering 402 terabits per second (Tb/s).
The team, led by the Photonic Network Laboratory of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan, demonstrated a record-breaking optical transmission bandwidth of 37.6 THz to enable the new data-rate record in a standard commercially available optical fiber.
At this speed, it would take just one minute to download every movie listed on the Internet Movie Database and less than a millisecond to install the popular video game, Elden Ring.
“It is expected that the data-rate of optical transmission systems required to enable ‘Beyond 5G’ information services will increase enormously,” NICT said in a press release. “New wavelength regions enable deployed optical fiber networks to perform higher data-rate transmission and extend the useful life of existing network systems.”
Other Great Reads on DCK This Week
Maximize ROI: 6 Key Questions for Effective Data Center Optimization. Ask these six essential questions to streamline your data center optimization efforts and enhance operational efficiency.
Patch Now: Cisco Zero-Day Under Fire From Threat Group. Threat actors are understood to be exploiting a vulnerability in Cisco’s NX-OS data center software.
Talen Energy Defends Interconnection Agreement for Amazon Data Center. It doesn’t appear that a protest by AEP and Exelon at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission poses a significant risk to the agreement, according to observers.
Consumer Regulated Electricity: The Path to Faster, Reliable Power Solutions? There’s a growing understanding that we’re running out of electricity in the US. How can that be? More importantly, what can we do to fix it, asks Glen Lyons.
AI vs. ESG – A Pressing Business Conundrum. Balancing AI adoption with sustainability is a pressing challenge for businesses. Eva Sóley Guðbjörnsdóttir explains how strategic data center location can help.
If you’re planning on visiting Wyoming, for a truly authentic experience, you must include at least one of the state’s awesome downtowns in your travel plans. Positioned at the southern end of the 60-mile-long valley known as Jackson Hole, the character-rich town of Jackson is one such place to consider. A wonderful place to explore on foot, Jackson’s unique downtown, with its Old West vibe, spreads out from the intersection of Broadway and Cache Street. While it consists of just a few blocks, it is jam-packed with fun things to do, no matter what time of year you visit. Its impressive elk arch makes for an excellent photo opportunity, while the charm of its Old West heritage exudes from the historic buildings, cowboy-themed bars, and art installations across town. The wild past also comes to life in Jackson during the Jackson Hole Shootout at the Town Square, a tradition that has endured since 1957.
Town Square And The Elk Antler Arches
Though Jackson’s Central Park is officially known as George Washington Memorial Park, locals and visitors alike prefer to call it Town Square. Dedicated in 1934, this centrally located public space occupies the block at Broadway and Cache and is famous for the elk antler archers set at each of its corners.
Made entirely from naturally shed elk antlers, the first arch was erected by local Boy Scouts and Rotary Club members in 1953, with the other three added a few years later. Each consists of around 2,000 antlers collected from the nearby National Elk Refuge and is among the most photographed landmarks in Wyoming.
For a truly memorable experience, try to time a visit to coincide with ELKFEST. Held in May, this community-wide celebration attracts visitors from across the country for events like the Mountain Man Rendezvous, a reenactment of the state’s early fur trading years.
The main event, though, is the highly anticipated Elk Antler Auction. Bidders from far and wide turn up at Town Square to purchase antlers, which are then used to make everything from furniture to jewelry (proceeds going back to the Elk Refuge).
Jackson’s Cowboy Heritage
From Memorial Day through Labor Day, Town Square becomes the backdrop of the famous Jackson Hole Shootout. This fun (and free) mock gunfight has been entertaining visitors since 1957 and includes several costumed outlaws and lawmen shooting it out (with blanks, of course). You can add to the experience by hopping aboard the Jackson Hole Stagecoach, a ride aboard a century-old coach that loops around downtown.
The Old West theme is evident in other spots around the downtown core, too. Steps from Town Square, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar has been around since 1937 and is set in what was once the town’s first bank in the late 1890s. Highlights include its hand-carved bar top with silver dollars embedded in it, as well as its cool saddle barstools. Live music is regularly scheduled on the stage that has seen such legends as Willie Nelson and Hank Williams Jr. perform.
The Wort Hotel is another downtown landmark you’ll want to include in your Jackson itinerary. A local fixture since 1941, it’s here you’ll find the famous Silver Dollar Bar with its custom-made S-shaped counter inlaid with 2,032 uncirculated (and therefore rare) 1921 silver dollars. You’ll also want to check out its priceless collection of original Western art.
Other Fun Stuff To Do In Downtown Jackson
In addition to its iconic bars, downtown Jackson also boasts a world-class food scene. Highlights include Persephone Bakery, its old-fashioned stone hearth turning out delicious baked goods, including croissants and artisanal bread. Also yummy, Cafe Genevieve occupies an old log cabin and serves breakfast and lunch with a Southern-inspired menu.
Jackson’s art scene is also worth a mention. Art galleries are plentiful in the downtown area, with establishments like Astoria Fine Art and Mountain Trails Galleries, both on Town Square, featuring works by local, national, and international artists. The Center for the Arts is another cultural high point and features performance spaces, visual arts studios, and an outdoor sculpture park.
Snow King Mountain
Another unique feature of Jackson’s downtown is its proximity to some of Wyoming’s best (and certainly most accessible) ski hills. The base of Snow King Mountain is just six blocks from Town Square and has been in use since 1936, and really took off when Wyoming’s first chairlift opened here in 1946.
Dubbed the “Town Hill” by locals, Snow King now consists of 500 skiable acres, 41 named runs, three chairlifts, an eight-passenger gondola, and night skiing. In warmer months, the action shifts to a thrilling Cowboy Coaster, a zipline, a treetop adventure ropes course, and an alpine slide.
The Snow King Observatory and Planetarium is another excuse to head for the hills from downtown Jackson. Located at the summit of Snow King Mountain, in addition to its large telescope, this must-see attraction features a planetarium theater and a rooftop observation deck boasting incredible views over Jackson and the Jackson Hole Valley.
Explore Jackson’s Not-So-Wild Side
Downtown Jackson has so much to offer visitors seeking an authentic slice of Wyoming life. From its unique elk antler arches to its art galleries and cowboy culture, as well as its unique position steps from the ski hills, few towns in the USA’s Mountain Region can match the long list of fun things to do in Jackson’s downtown core.
The expansion would open the spigot for 550,000 barrels per day of crude, the company says. Although the crude would mostly pass through eastern Wyoming, the venture opens opportunities for Wyoming oil producers in the region for more transportation access to U.S. refineries and shipping ports, according to Bridger and local industry officials.“It would be the biggest project in our history, if it comes to fruition,” Bridger Pipeline spokesperson Bill Salvin told WyoFile on Friday. “We are, however, in the really early stages of the project. But we’re very excited about it.”Industry trade groups speculate the Bridger Pipeline Expansion is part of a competitive scramble to fill a gap left by TC Energy’s Keystone XL project. That company, in 2021, abandoned the controversial project in the face of major opposition and protests. It would have transported Canadian tar-sands oil into the U.S. market via a route extending through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among many challenges for Keystone XL was acquiring new rights-of-way easements. Though the Bridger Pipeline Expansion proposal requires some new rights-of-way, that’s not the case for the 210-mile Wyoming segment, according to Salvin.“All of that distance is within, or parallel to, existing pipeline corridors,” Salvin said.
TNCMS.AdManager.render({region: ‘fixed-big-ad-middle-asset’, slot: 1, fold: “span”});
The Wyoming segment would pass through Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte counties.Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True Companies, submitted a notice of intent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January and noted it will formally initiate environmental applications to the agency. Salvin told WyoFile he’s uncertain about the full spectrum of regulatory requirements in Wyoming.However, the company regards the Cowboy State as a great fit for the project, he said. “This [project proposal] just highlights how important the region is and how Wyoming is a very good place for energy projects like this.”Reached for comment, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said the proposed pipeline only stands to benefit Wyoming producers and the state.“Investments like these, along with continued growth in areas like the Powder River Basin, show Wyoming will continue to play an important role in the nation’s energy markets,” PAW Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey told WyoFile. “Connecting in Guernsey allows product to be transported to refining hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma.” WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
#placement_821454_0_i{width:100%;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid821454 = window.pid821454 || rnd;var plc821454 = window.plc821454 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || ”;var absrc=”https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=821454;type=js;sw=”+screen.width+’;sh=”+screen.height+”;spr=”+window.devicePixelRatio+”;kw=’+abkw+’;pid=’+pid821454+’;place=”+(plc821454++)+”;rnd=’+rnd+’;click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER’;var _absrc = absrc.split(“type=js”); absrc = _absrc[0] + ‘type=js;referrer=” + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write(“‘);
Pregnant migrant girls are being sent to a Texas shelter flagged as medically risky
Supreme Court ruling on secretive California gender policy could reshape parent rights fights nationwide
Nancy Guthrie neighbors’ Ring camera captures vehicles on possible route from crime scene
Family member of American killed by Cuban forces in boat shootout says he was on ‘diabolical’ mission
Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Pregnant migrant girls are being sent to a Texas shelter flagged as medically risky
Fraud-plagued Minnesota sues Trump admin for withholding $243M in Medicaid payments
Is Iran expanding attacks to target energy and civilian sites in the Gulf?
Trump claims US stockpiles mean wars can be fought ‘forever’; Kristi Noem testifies before Congress – US politics live
War in the Middle East: Iran’s broad retaliation in the Gulf • FRANCE 24 English
-
World6 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts6 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon4 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
News1 week agoVideo: How Lunar New Year Traditions Take Root Across America
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland