Google buys Crusoe's Wyoming data-centre site for a $17bn project, after Crusoe failed to sign it as a tenant, TechCrunch reports

Google said on 5 November that it is building its first data centre in Wyoming, in Laramie County near Cheyenne: “We’re building our first data center in Wyoming, representing a $17 billion investment in the Cowboy State.” Its post says the project is contracted with AEP for a 702 MW fuel-cell development with carbon capture and storage, with fuel cells from Bloom Energy, and power from gas generators operated by Tallgrass Energy and Black Hills Energy.

A day later, Crusoe, the AI data-centre developer, announced that Google has acquired its data-centre site in southeast Wyoming. Crusoe says the sale completes its pre-development work there: site selection, government approvals and a hybrid power strategy developed with Tallgrass Energy. Neither company disclosed a price. The $17bn is Google's planned investment, not what it paid Crusoe.

TechCrunch reports that Crusoe had tried and failed to land Google as a customer for the site, and that Google took over after reportedly raising concerns about the project's cost and construction timeline under Crusoe's management. The sale itself was first reported by Bloomberg in June, TechCrunch says. Crusoe says it has more than 6 GW contracted.

For Crusoe, it turns a project that lacked an anchor tenant into a sale. For Google, it is another large site whose power comes from gas on the spot rather than from the grid, which is one answer to the local fights over data centres' effect on power bills.

• Claimed Google says its first Wyoming data centre is a $17bn investment and includes a 702 MW fuel-cell development contracted with AEP. Google
• Confirmed Crusoe says its southeast Wyoming site has been acquired by Google. Crusoe newsroom
• Reported Crusoe had tried and failed to land Google as a customer, and Google took over after reportedly raising concerns about cost and timeline, TechCrunch reports. TechCrunch