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Microsoft Plans to Buy 3,200 Acres Near Cheyenne — and a Large-Load Tariff Means Residents Won't Pay for It
WY
Data Centers · Utility Regulation
April 14, 2026
Source: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
Microsoft announced plans to purchase approximately 3,200 acres south of Cheyenne — tripling its physical footprint in the area. The company has been operating data centers there since 2012 and was the No. 1 city taxpayer and No. 2 county taxpayer in 2025, contributing over $11 million to the local tax base. The 3,000-acre tract involves property owned by Sen. Cynthia Lummis' family through Old Horse Pasture Inc. and Arp and Hammond Hardware Co.
The detail that matters most for other communities: Cheyenne uses a Large Power Contract Service tariff — a rate structure where large electricity customers like data centers pay for all necessary infrastructure upgrades, including new generation, transmission, and substations. Residential and small business customers are explicitly protected from data center-driven cost increases. According to the Smart Electric Power Alliance, 60 utilities in 36 states now have or are developing similar large-load tariffs.
Microsoft employs about 220 full-time workers across its existing centers and has trained more than 1,000 students through a Datacenter Academy at Laramie County Community College. The company says current data centers use 1.2% of city water and new facilities will use closed-loop cooling.
Community Takeaway
Cheyenne's arrangement is worth studying as a model. The large-load tariff ensures Microsoft pays its own way for generation, transmission, and substation upgrades — the most concrete protection a community can secure against rate increases driven by data center demand. The land purchase still requires annexation and rezoning, both with public hearings. The involvement of a sitting U.S. senator's family in the land sale is notable. Communities negotiating with data center developers should ask whether their local utility has or is considering a large-load tariff — it's one of the most proven mechanisms available.
What You Can Do
- Attend annexation and rezoning hearings
- The 3,200-acre land purchase requires both annexation into Cheyenne and rezoning approval. Both processes include public hearings before the Cheyenne Planning Commission and City Council. Watch the City of Cheyenne meeting agendas for scheduled dates.
- Ask your utility about large-load tariffs
- Cheyenne’s model requires Microsoft to pay its own generation, transmission, and substation costs. If a data center is proposed in your area, ask your local utility commission whether a large-load tariff exists or is being considered.
Source: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, April 14, 2026.