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American Electric Power (AEP) plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a 702-megawatt fuel-cell installation near Cheyenne, Wyoming, to supply Google under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project would place one of the data center industry’s largest announced fuel-cell deployments at the center of a broader power buildout supporting Google’s planned expansion.
Construction is expected to begin before the end of 2026, with full operations targeted for late 2028. Alongside that schedule, the partners face unresolved questions about carbon capture and how the installation will fit into the other electricity resources planned for the campus.
Bloom Energy will supply the solid oxide fuel cells. Development will proceed through Cheyenne Fuel Cell LLC, a venture approximately 92% owned and controlled by AEP. Funds advised by Basalt Infrastructure Partners hold the remaining interest.
Announcing the agreement, Bill Fehrman, AEP's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said:
As power demand continues to grow, AEP is bringing together new technologies and strong partnerships to deliver reliable, innovative energy solutions quickly and at scale.
The agreement puts development and ownership of the generation equipment in the hands of an established energy company, while securing long-term electricity output for Google. It also gives AEP an opportunity to invest beyond its traditional regulated utility territory, which does not include Wyoming.
The arrangement developed over nearly two years. In November 2024, Bloom Energy announced an agreement with AEP covering up to 1 gigawatt of solid oxide fuel-cell equipment. That deal included an initial commitment to purchase 100 MW and options for an additional 900 MW.
In January 2026, AEP disclosed that an unregulated subsidiary had committed approximately $2.65 billion to purchase a substantial portion of the capacity covered by the earlier option. It also reported a 20-year agreement to sell the planned facility’s entire electricity output to an unidentified investment-grade customer.
Google was publicly identified as that customer in October 2026. The equipment commitment is part of the approximately $4 billion project, not an additional investment.
Neither company has disclosed the electricity price or the agreement’s detailed commercial terms.
Solid oxide fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical process rather than conventional combustion. Their modular design allows developers to combine standardized units into larger installations and potentially add capacity alongside successive stages of data center construction.
That flexibility does not eliminate the need for a complete power delivery system. Electrical redundancy, energy storage, backup capacity, and protection and control equipment remain important to meeting hyperscale reliability requirements.
When fueled with natural gas, the cells still produce carbon dioxide. AEP says the Cheyenne installation is being designed to incorporate carbon capture, with the objective of delivering near-zero-emissions electricity.
Bloom Energy says its technology produces a relatively concentrated carbon dioxide stream that could simplify capture compared with conventional gas-fired generation. In February 2025, Bloom announced a partnership with Chart Industries to develop carbon-capture technology for its fuel-cell systems.
The Cheyenne project’s environmental performance has yet to be demonstrated. AEP has not publicly specified a guaranteed capture rate, named the facility’s carbon-capture equipment supplier, or detailed arrangements for transporting, using or permanently storing captured carbon dioxide.
The project’s ultimate environmental value will also depend on upstream methane emissions, the energy consumed by capture equipment and whether captured carbon dioxide remains permanently stored.
The fuel-cell installation is only one element of the infrastructure taking shape around Google’s planned campus.
Eight days before AEP’s announcement, Black Hills Corp. disclosed agreements with Google for a resource portfolio totaling approximately 2.7 GW, including reserve margins. Effective September 30, 2026, those agreements combine grid-connected electricity, new natural gas generation and privately contracted resources.
Black Hills will provide up to 590 MW of grid-connected energy service and manage approximately 2.1 GW of Wyoming-based, third-party contracted resources through a privately managed microgrid. Initial electricity service is expected in late 2027, with demand projected to reach its peak in 2030.
Neither AEP nor Black Hills has publicly confirmed whether the 702 MW fuel-cell installation is included in that third-party portfolio. The announced capacities therefore should not be added together as separate supplies.
Google’s Project Tembo, previously known as Project Jade, is proposed for the Switchgrass Industrial Park south of Cheyenne. Laramie County planning records describe approximately 716 acres, with four major data center buildings totaling about 3.08 million square feet, plus supporting facilities.
Delivering the fuel-cell project by late 2028 will require coordination beyond manufacturing the generating equipment. Natural gas supply, electrical infrastructure, regulatory approvals and construction must align with data hall development and computing equipment deployment.
AEP has not released a detailed phased commissioning schedule or explained how the fuel cells will operate alongside the campus’s other electricity resources. Turning those separate power commitments into dependable operating infrastructure remains the central challenge for the Cheyenne buildout.
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