Falls Ranch says 1.2 GW Casper Data Center will Proceed After Prometheus Exits

Falls Ranch, the limited partnership that owns the land earmarked for a planned 1.2 GW data center near Casper, Wyoming, has declared that work on the project will carry on even though its lead developer has walked away.

Landowner vows the development will not slow down

The partnership, controlled by Texas billionaire Russell Gordy, announced through a representative that "work will continue without delay" under a new development company. "This has always been a Wyoming project, but today it represents something even greater: an opportunity for Natrona County to shape its own economic future," said Robert Hand, a representative for Falls Ranch.

"This recent shift will expedite and elevate this project for Natrona County, and we couldn't be more excited about it." The departure at the center of the dispute is that of US data center firm Prometheus Hyperscale, which confirmed it has dropped out of the planned campus near Casper in Natrona County.

The news was reported by local press including the Casper Star Tribune and WyoFile. "After spending a great deal of time evaluating the opportunity, we have decided to not pursue a data center project in Natrona or Converse Counties," Prometheus Hyperscale president Trevor Neilson told WyoFile.

What Prometheus had planned for the site

The project, first announced in October 2025, was to occupy a 940-acre site and reach a capacity of 1.2GW. Prometheus was set to collaborate with Spiritus and Casper Carbon Capture, with natural gas power supplied by Spiritus affiliate Orchard Power and carbon capture provided by Casper Carbon Capture. The first phase had originally been scheduled to come online this year. As recently as August, Prometheus had announced a potential partnership with Mesa Power Solutions for on-site power generation at the Natrona County campus.

The company was still in discussions with local officials about the project as recently as September, and had not yet filed for building permits. Prometheus, launched around 2020 and formally known as Wyoming Hyperscale Whitebox before being relaunched in September 2024, remains active elsewhere. It is still developing its original flagship campus in Evanston, in Wyoming's Uinta County, and has projects in development in Dallas and Reeves County, Texas.

"We are thrilled with our progress in Evanston with Uinta County and believe other additional locations in Wyoming offer a clearer path to permitting and community support," Neilson told press. DCD has reached out to Prometheus for comment.

County officials learned of the withdrawal from the press

Natrona County officials said the cancellation caught them off guard, telling reporters they only learned of it through media coverage and remain unsure of the company's reasons for pulling out.

"I don't see the Natrona County government as being a deciding factor for them to pull out, but I don't know. I'm just kind of disappointed, and I'd highly encourage them to reconsider if they have a future project or change their minds and reconsider Natrona County," Natrona County commission chairman Jim Milne told WyoFile. Justin Farley, CEO of economic development organization Advance Casper, told Oil City News: "Advance Casper is disappointed in their decision to pull out of there. Fortunately, we have other developers that have properties under option in Natrona County. So, we'll continue to work with them. Natrona County is still open for business, and we're still going to pursue any leads that we get in data centers."

Opposition to the campus was modest

Local resistance to the project appears to have been limited. A Change.org petition against the development had gathered more than 900 signatures at the time of writing. While some residents voiced objections at public meetings, there was seemingly no major groundswell against the project, and local officials were generally supportive of the proposals. With Falls Ranch insisting that the project will advance under new stewardship, the question of who ultimately delivers the 1.2 GW campus remains open, but the land itself is set to remain in play.