The Wyoming Town in Uproar over Plans for a Data-Center "Man Camp"
A proposed data center and temporary worker housing in Evanston, Wyoming, has sparked local backlash. Residents oppose the "man camp" plan, citing concerns over community impact, infrastructure strain, and cultural changes in the small town.
Background
- A "man camp" is a temporary housing complex for male workers, historically used in oil/gas or mining booms. The term suggests a large, transient, overwhelmingly male population brought in for construction or operations, which small towns often fear will strain local infrastructure and culture.
- The town in question is a small Wyoming community (likely near Cheyenne or along the I-80 corridor). Wyoming has become a hotspot for massive data centers due to low taxes, cheap land, and available power—especially after the nearby TransWest Express transmission line was approved to bring wind energy to the region.
- Data centers are warehouse-sized buildings full of servers that power cloud computing and AI. They require enormous amounts of electricity and water (for cooling), and their construction phases can involve thousands of temporary workers—hence the "man camp" controversy.
- The uproar reflects a broader tension across rural America: tech companies bring jobs and tax revenue, but also disrupt the character of small towns, strain water and power supplies, and create conflicts between local residents and out-of-state developers.