Tallgrass and Mitsubishi Power Allocate 1,150 MW of Gas Turbines to the Cheyenne Power Hub in Wyoming

Data Centers Grid Connection & Reliability News
Marin Holt
July 19, 2026
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6 minutes read

Phase 1 Capacity: 1,150 MW
Total Investment: Over $7 billion
Data Center: Project Jade (Crusoe), up to 10 GW
Turbines: Two Mitsubishi M501JAC gas turbines

Tallgrass and Mitsubishi Power Americas have allocated the first two M501JAC gas turbines to Phase 1 of the Cheyenne Power Hub, a roughly 1,150 MW generation complex rising in the Switchgrass Industrial Park in Laramie County, southeast Wyoming. The turbines anchor a build-out that the partners value at more than $7 billion and that will deliver dedicated, on-site power to Project Jade, an AI data center campus developed with Crusoe.

The two turbines form the core of two combined-cycle power plants, paired with a fuel cell yard and a set of aeroderivative units for startup, backup, and supplemental generation. Natural gas reaches the site through Tallgrass’ Rockies Express Pipeline. Component delivery is underway, and installation of the first M501JAC unit begins as early as July 2026. Laramie County commissioners approved the site plan in January 2026.

Project Jade starts at 1.8 GW of computing load and scales toward 10 GW on an adjacent 600-acre parcel, according to Power Engineering. Crusoe, a vertically integrated AI infrastructure developer, is the data center customer. The Cheyenne Power Hub also holds a grid interconnection that positions the site for future renewable integration, and it sits near Tallgrass’ Trailblazer carbon capture and sequestration hub.

The project reflects a shift in how large AI campuses secure firm power. Rather than wait years in an interconnection queue for grid capacity, developers are pairing behind-the-fence gas generation with a grid tie, then adding fuel cells and renewables over time. Wyoming’s gas supply, existing pipeline infrastructure, and available industrial land put Laramie County among several new entrants competing for hyperscale load.

Why It Matters

A 1,150 MW first phase for a single data center campus shows how far on-site generation has moved from backup duty to primary supply. For grid operators, projects like the Cheyenne Power Hub ease near-term interconnection pressure by serving load behind the meter, while the retained grid tie preserves reliability and a path to renewables. For Wyoming, the $7 billion commitment and its tie to the Trailblazer carbon capture hub signal that gas basins intend to keep a role in the AI power build-out. Readers tracking data center siting should watch whether the fuel cell yard and later renewable additions materially lower the hub’s carbon intensity, or whether gas stays the workhorse well into the 2030s.

Critical Perspective

Phase 1 allocates two M501JAC turbines for roughly 1,150 MW, while Project Jade starts at 1.8 GW of computing load and scales toward 10 GW. That leaves about 650 MW of day-one demand unaccounted for in the announcement, with the fuel cell yard and aeroderivative units described as startup, backup, and supplemental rather than as firm supply. FERC rejected an amended interconnection service agreement in November 2024 for Talen Energy’s behind-the-meter sale from the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station to an adjacent Amazon data center, a reminder that co-located load can stall on the filing rather than the steel. If Project Jade energizes on schedule and the hub delivers its 1,150 MW, what carries the remaining load, and under whose interconnection rights?