Social media giant Meta has unveiled plans for a massive data center which will bring 1,000 jobs to a rural county in America's heartland.
The big tech firm, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp, intends to build the $800 million hub in Wyoming's Cheyenne.
The 715,000 square foot center is scheduled to open by 2027, Cowboy State Daily reports.
At the peak of its construction the scheme, dubbed Project Cosmo, will generate 1,000 skilled construction jobs, its organizers said.
The announcement was made at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Event Center, with U.S. Senators. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins, and other politicians in attendance.
It is considered the largest ever investment in the tech sector and might explain why several energy companies are building solar farms nearby.
However, not everyone is thrilled about the prospect of more big tech in town.
Several neighbors previously expressed concerns about noise and traffic resulting from the build.
'Oh, hell no, we don't want it here,' local Rachel Riter said.
'We bought our house 18 years ago and we could look out the back of our house into somebody else's backyard, where cattle grazed. Nobody is happy about it.'
But Bradley Davis, Meta's director of data centers and economic development, said the company has tried to work with the community.
'In all of our data centers, we're committed to being a good neighbor, a member of the community and looking to make sure that whatever we're doing in our operations are not going to be a disturbance to anybody nearby,' he said.
The facility is designed to house network computers that will store, process and transmit data across the world.
Meta will join the likes of Microsoft and others in bringing a data center to Cheyenne.
It has so far refused to state how much electricity will be needed to power the facility.
However, a similar sized center in Odense, Denmark used 517,718 megawatts of energy in 2022. Cheyenne runs on about 43,800 megawatts per year.
Part of the agreement stipulates that Meta cannot use any more water than for a standard business of 100 employees.
The company will also fund miles of new roads around the data center, as well as water and sewer pipes.
An Oregon company is constructing the facility, but locals can find employment thanks to new educational programs being offered in Wyoming, according to Cheyenne LEADS CEO Betsey Hale said
The existence of the project had been kept under wraps using stringent NDAs.
Davis said Cheyenne was chosen for its robust infrastructure, access to a skilled workforce and proximity to renewable energy.
'I can tell you that folks from Cheyenne check the box on all fronts,' he said.
