Wyoming residents are in an uproar over plans to build a “man camp” to house thousands of out-of-state workers flocking to the region to build massive, power-hungry data centers — the latest instance of Americans revolting against such projects.
Local officials are weighing a pitch from project developer Iron Guard Housing for a “temporary workforce housing complex” for as many as 5,600 laborers and townspeople in the state capital Cheyenne, according to the Wall Street Journal.
State data shows the new complex would be a small city in itself, larger than 84 of Wyoming’s incorporated cities and towns – and those who remember previous “man camps” erected during labor booms are sounding the alarm.
“Men who are away from their families (assuming they have families) with no ties to this community,” one resident warned in a Cheyenne, Wyo., community Facebook page, where hundreds argued over the plans.
America’s least-populous state has turned into the perfect breeding ground for tech firms racing to construct new data centers, thanks to its low taxes and plentiful energy supply.
Ten of the massive centers are already up and running, five more are under construction and another nine have been announced, the Journal reported, citing Betsey Hale, chief executive of Cheyenne Leads, the city’s economic development group.
“I’ve always been a believer in private-property rights,” Stan Higgins, 72, a retired civil-service technician with the Wyoming Army National Guard, told the Journal.
But the three acres of shortgrass prairie behind Stan and his wife Tammy’s home have morphed from a view of cattle, antelope and coyotes into one of heavy trucks, construction workers and near-constant noise over the past two years as a new Meta data center is built.
“There’s no end of it in sight. It is heartbreaking,” Stan told the Journal.
To the east of their property, which the couple purchased 20 years ago, Microsoft is planning to triple the acreage of one of its data centers, while to the south, work is starting on Project Jade, which could eventually become one of the largest data centers in the country.
“They’re trying to turn our beautiful state into Colorado/California,” a community member cautioned on Facebook. “If we don’t protect our Wyoming, we’ll have nowhere else to go! It will be over!”
But another argued that the massive man camp could help boost the local economy in the city of 66,000, writing: “Just think of all that money coming in with those workers buying things locally!!!”
Iron Guard Housing has defended its plan to erect rows of modular unit housing as “pristine, conveniently located and comfortable man camp housing,” including rooms with a shower, TV, bed and recliner, as well as security, linen and dining service, a gym and even pickleball courts.
At a meeting in May, locals poured into the red brick historic courthouse in Cheyenne for a meeting with the planning commission to protest the housing plans.
“I grew up in Uinta County,” an area known for coal mining, said Republican State Rep. Clarence Styvar, according to the Journal. “I remember the shovel fights on Main Street, the murders … We need to consider where we put this.”
Justin Arnold, who leads the county’s development department, insisted that the workers are coming to Cheyenne either way – and that a man camp could actually help local residents by preventing thousands of out-of-state workers from competing for housing.
“What I fear for is the cashier on South Greeley Highway that’s working at Safeway, that’s going to get priced out as soon as their lease comes up on their rental,” he said. “If you’re renting, you are up a crick.”
He also argued it would be safer to have a concentrated man camp, since the sheriff would rather have deputies “keeping an eye on 6,000 workers in one area than dispersing them throughout the communities.”
The local planning commission voted unanimously to advance the man camp – but it was abruptly pulled at a meeting two weeks later as local officials push for consideration of other sites.
Cheyenne Leads and Iron Guard Housing did not immediately respond to noti.group’s requests for comment.
Throughout the States, Americans have been fighting data center projects in their backyards over concerns about the environmental impact, the potential to hike their utility bills, the drain on the local water supply and noise and light pollution.
Residents of Fayetteville, Ga., were furious to discover a massive new data center had guzzled 30 million gallons of water without initially paying for it, leaving locals with weak water pressure during a drought.
In nearby Coweta County, Ga., residents have been fighting against another site known as “Project Sail,” a proposed 800-acre data center.
Small-town Missourians in April ousted several councilmembers who backed a $6 billion data center project.
And in May, hundreds of furious Utah residents packed a local gymnasium and erupted in chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” as county commissioners pushed through a colossal data center project from “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
