Google bought Crusoe’s southeast Wyoming data-center site after Crusoe completed early planning work, taking over the campus project as Google moves ahead with a planned $17 billion investment.
The companies disclosed the transfer on November 6. A day earlier, Google announced plans for its first Wyoming data center in Laramie County with Tallgrass Energy, Black Hills Energy, American Electric Power and Related Digital. Crusoe selected the site, secured government approvals and developed a power plan with Tallgrass.
Crusoe said it worked on the project before construction, but did not build or operate it. Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition. Google’s $17 billion figure refers to its planned investment in the project, not the reported purchase price.
Google says its energy plan includes a planned 702-megawatt fuel-cell project with carbon capture and storage. Google says it will pay for all the electricity the data center uses. Crusoe and Tallgrass’s earlier power plan also considered electricity from the grid and natural-gas turbines, with carbon capture as a longer-term option.
The transfer moves Google’s Wyoming campus plans forward. It also ends Crusoe’s development role at the site. Crusoe says it remains involved in a separate Google data-center campus under construction near Amarillo, Texas.