Platte County

Moratoriums and bans

1. Sept. 16, 2026 Platte County: Data center zoning rules (proposed). The county proposed adding data centers to its Land Use Rules and Regulations (table of contents, definitions, and the commercial, industrial and ranch/agricultural/mining chapters), with a planning commission public hearing set for Sept. 16, 2026. Several residents asked for a moratorium during the Site Layer 4 rezoning, but commissioners approved the rezone. The outcome of the rules was not found. (Platte County, Aug. 11, 2026; Platte County, Sept. 2026; Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 2, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Sept. 16, 2026 Platte County: Data center zoning rules (proposed) · The county proposed adding data centers to its Land Use Rules and Regulations (table of contents, definitions, and the commercial, industrial and ranch/agricultural/mining chapters), with a planning commission public hearing set for Sept. 16, 2026. Several residents asked for a moratorium during the Site Layer 4 rezoning, but commissioners approved the rezone. The outcome of the rules was not found. (Platte County, Aug. 11, 2026; Platte County, Sept. 2026; Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 2, 2026)
2. Sept. 2, 2026 Site Layer 4 data center and energy campus (Goshen Hole) · After nearly four hours of discussion, county commissioners unanimously approved the rezone with four conditions: five-year reversion, commission review of any industrial park subdivision, a special-use permit for any use, and the owner's written acceptance. (Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 2, 2026)
3. Aug. 26, 2026 Site Layer 4 data center and energy campus (Goshen Hole) · The Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended rezoning the land to industrial with three conditions, including reversion if construction does not start within five years. (Cowboy State Daily, Aug. 27, 2026; Platte County, Aug. 11, 2026)

Statewide

Wyoming exempts a data processing services center's purchases of servers, storage, racks, cabling and software from sales and use tax when they top $2 million in a calendar year and the center has at least $5 million of capital investment in the state; a second tier, for power backup, generators and cooling equipment, requires $50 million of investment. The center needs a Wyoming Business Council jobs certification. W.S. 39-15-105(a)(viii)(S) and 39-16-105(a)(viii)(H), from HB 67 (2010) as expanded by HB 117 (2011). (Wyoming Department of Revenue (report posted by the Legislature), Nov. 1, 2023; Wyoming Business Council (handout posted by the Legislature), Nov. 2025) Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power (Black Hills Energy) offers a Blockchain Interruptible Service tariff for new interruptible loads of 10 MW or more under negotiated contracts of at least two years, filed confidentially with the PSC and kept out of other customers' power cost adjustment (Wyo. P.S.C. Tariff No. 13, Docket 20003-173-ET-18, effective June 1, 2019). The first customer signed in 2022. (Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Co. d/b/a Black Hills Energy, Wyo. P.S.C. Tariff No. 13 (posted by the Legislature), Aug. 12, 2019; Cheyenne LEADS, June 21, 2022) The same utility's Large Power Contract Service tariff covers new loads of 13 MW or more through negotiated agreements, and customers allow the utility to dispatch their on-site backup generation. It was sought in PSC Docket 20003-146-ET-15, where Microsoft petitioned to intervene; Black Hills says the PSC approved its large-load tariff in July 2016. (Black Hills Energy, Oct. 25, 2026; Wyoming Public Service Commission, Dec. 3, 2015) Rocky Mountain Power has no tariff written for data centers in Wyoming; FactSet lists its large-load mechanism as Schedule 400 special contracts for loads over 200 MW. Its pending rate case (Docket 20000-710-ER-26) is contested partly over whether early grid spending for prospective hyperscale load should be spread across retail customers, and in September 2026 the utility asked lawmakers to back its 'Wyoming Grid Revitalization and Modernization' proposal, which would codify large-load tariffs for loads of 50 MW to 200 MW. (Wyoming Public Service Commission, Oct. 25, 2026; FactSet Insight, Oct. 14, 2026; Rocky Mountain Power (testimony posted by the Legislature), Sept. 28, 2026) Under the Industrial Siting Act, non-mineral processing facilities built in existing industrial parks designated by local governments skip the state siting council's fees and certification and only have to file certain information (W.S. 35-12-119(a)). Data center developers in Natrona and Platte counties have pointed to this exemption. (Wyoming Legislature (interim committee material), 2026; Oil City News (republished by WyoFile), Sept. 2, 2026; Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 2, 2026) Gov. Mark Gordon's Executive Order 2026-03, 'Data Centers the Wyoming Way' (June 3, 2026), sets non-binding principles. It says the companies that create new grid costs should pay them, it protects water and wildlife, and it leaves siting to local governments. Agencies had 60 days to send policy and legislative recommendations. (Trinity Consultants, June 12, 2026; WyoFile, June 3, 2026; Wyoming Public Media (Mountain West News Bureau), June 3, 2026) The 2026 budget session passed no bill aimed at data centers. An interim draft on 'extremely large electrical loads' was never introduced. The PSC is separately writing Chapter 6 rules on when generating power for a retail customer is not service 'to the public' (Docket 90000-193-XO-26). (Wyoming Public Media (Mountain West News Bureau), Jan. 16, 2026; Davis Graham, May 8, 2026; Wyoming Public Service Commission, Oct. 25, 2026) 2026 interim, for the 2027 session: the Joint Minerals Committee killed a bill on Aug. 27 that would have let independent suppliers sell power to large customers (25 MW single, or 100 MW for up to four). The Blockchain select committee took up a revised version on Sept. 28, with a 10 MW behind-the-meter path and a one-year window for the incumbent utility to offer service first, and planned to return to it in November. Prometheus Hyperscale testified in support. (Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 21, 2026; Cowboy State Daily, Sept. 30, 2026) The Joint Revenue Committee's draft 27LSO-0111, 'Data centers industrial property', would class data processing services centers as industrial property for property tax. Staff noted that the definition, copied from the sales-tax statute (W.S. 39-15-101(a)(xliv)), could reach even small server rooms. (Wyoming Legislature, Joint Revenue Interim Committee, Aug. 31, 2026) Wyoming data centers →