Diligence
The developer checklist, answered
This is the list a site selection team works through. Every item has an answer, including the items where the answer is that work remains. Nothing is left blank to be found later.
Answered
In place today and verifiable now
In progress
Underway, with a defined path
Diligence
Requires survey, counsel or a counterparty input
6 sections
Power, fuel, water, site, regulatory, counterparty
1 · Power and generation
Grid interconnection: queue position, study status, energization timeline
Off the critical path. The behind-the-meter configuration needs no queue position and no
interconnection study. Separately, several 40 MW sites can be served now through the lower-voltage system,
about 300 MW is known available at Pumpkin Buttes, and Powder River Energy Corporation and Bison indicate
grid interconnection inside 24 months on a conservative basis. Those figures are subject to written
confirmation and are not netted against the behind-the-meter
schedule.In progress
Available capacity: substation headroom, transmission constraints, network
upgrades
Three 230 kV substations are reachable from the Energy Park: Barber Creek at 1.5 miles, Carr
Draw at 9.8 miles and Pumpkin Buttes at 28.5 miles, on a meshed rather than radial network, so
interconnection does not hang on a single point of delivery. For the primary configuration the question does
not arise. Campus load is served on site, so there is no headroom constraint and no network upgrade
allocation.Answered
Behind-the-meter feasibility: on-site gas, storage, hybrid
This is the primary design. Phase 1 is 100 MW of Caterpillar 3520 reciprocating units by
the end of 2026, fueled from current production. Mobile units can run while the air permit is in process,
which takes permitting off the critical path to first power. Battery storage can be layered for ramp-rate and
transient support. Firmness does not require it, because the fuel is
continuous.Answered
Generation equipment lead times, usually the longest item
Units are identified and contracted turnkey through Kodiak Power Solutions: supply,
installation, operation and maintenance. Phase 1 is Caterpillar 3520 units by the end of 2026, and a further
300 MW follows by the end of 2027 for 400 MW total. Unit configuration and delivery slots are shared under
NDA.In progress
Redundancy and reliability: N+1 or 2N design, backup power
Modular block architecture makes N+1 inherent, and losing one unit costs a fraction of
capacity. 2N is configurable to the counterparty’s tier requirement. Final redundancy design follows the load
profile and the uptime commitment.Diligence
Who operates the generation
Kodiak Power Services runs the fleet under the same turnkey structure and already operates gas
generation for hyperscale data center customers elsewhere. Pronghorn supplies fuel, water, land and field
support.Answered
Emissions permitting: air permits, state environmental review
Wyoming DEQ Air Quality Division. Permit class scales with installed capacity and is sequenced
by phase. Mobile generation can run while the Phase 1 permit is in process. The operator holds air permits
across the field today and has run this process for decades. Current application status is shared under
NDA.In progress
2 · Fuel supply
Proximity to pipeline, and available capacity on it
The question inverts. Pronghorn produces the gas: 100 MMcf/d today across 3,363
producing wells on its own leasehold, targeting 120 MMcf/d by year-end, gathered through 3,010 miles of
in-service pipeline. Fuel does not arrive by pipeline. It is diverted to generation before it enters the
gathering system. Separately, two third-party headers, Western Midstream’s Bighorn system and Fort Union Gas
Gathering, meet 1.5 miles from the Energy Park and are bidirectional, so gas can be sold out or brought
in.Answered
Interconnection feasibility: lateral cost and timeline
A fuel lateral is required and the scope is specific. The nearest Pronghorn gathering line is
2.8 miles from the site coordinate, the two third-party headers are 1.5 miles, and the Deadhorse
interconnect is 1.2 miles. This is a short in-field tie across ground Pronghorn already holds easements over
and builds pipe on routinely. Route, cost and timeline are provided under
NDA.In progress
Gas supply reliability: basin depth, curtailment and force majeure history
Coalbed methane: shallow, unstimulated, long-lived wells with a flat decline profile. Gas is
flowing today. The fuel and the generation share an owner, so there is no third-party curtailment or force
majeure counterparty in the fuel path.Answered
Reserves and long-term supply
2 Tcf of reserves. 1 GW of continuous generation consumes about 228 MMcf/d, or about
2.08 Tcf over 25 years. That is the arithmetic behind the gigawatt statement. Getting there takes field
development: return-to-production, recompletion and new-drill inventory on held acreage. It is not presented
as existing capacity. A reserve report is provided under
NDA.In progress
Commodity strategy: fixed against index, hedging, marketer requirement
Fuel enters the power price as an internal cost of production. A fixed all-in power price for
the term or an index-linked fuel component are both available, and the election sits with the offtaker. No
third-party gas marketer is required.Answered
Regulatory classification: FERC against state, permitting pathway
Gas moving from Pronghorn wells to Pronghorn on-site generation across the Pronghorn leasehold
does not implicate FERC-jurisdictional interstate transportation. Supplemental third-party gas, if elected,
runs through the existing headers under the normal midstream framework. The final structure should be
confirmed with counsel.Diligence
Carbon and ESG: offsets, sustainability commitments
Measured methane intensity 0.13%. The gas is biogenic and produced without stimulation, which
gives a low carbon intensity score. A carbon capture partner is evaluating Class II injection at the
Energy Park itself, into coal-seam geology beneath the site, so capture, generation and sequestration sit
at one location with no CO2 pipeline or transport agreement between them. That is the configuration
45Q is easiest to structure against. The geology is identified rather than proven, and injection permitting
has not commenced. Separately, Pronghorn is in discussions with a small modular reactor developer, whose
chief technology officer previously led technology at Oklo, on a bridge-to-nuclear structure. Both
counterparties are named on signature.In progress
3 · Water
Availability: water rights, aquifer capacity, municipal supply against demand
300,000 barrels a day, 12.6 MGD, of fresh potable-quality water is produced today as a
by-product of gas production, and the volume grows with production. It moves through 3,110 miles of
in-service gathering into 635 reservoirs and pits and 570 permitted outfalls. A 100 MW liquid-cooled
reference load draws about 1.0 MGD. There is no municipal supply, no new aquifer appropriation and no river
call.Answered
Cooling technology fit and resulting water intensity
All three designs work. Air-cooled exploits about 6,500 to 7,500 economizer hours a year at
near-zero water intensity. Liquid-cooled is supportable to about 1.2 GW at full redirection of co-produced
volume. Hybrid sets the split seasonally. Above roughly 1.2 GW the allocation between cooling and existing
discharge obligations becomes a commercial term.Answered
Permitting: withdrawal permits, discharge
Water is a by-product of already-permitted gas production, and the field operates 570 permitted
outfalls under the Wyoming DEQ framework today. The permit amendments to move volume into a campus cooling
loop are a defined process and depend on the selected cooling
design.Diligence
Drought and regulatory risk: water stress, moratorium risk
No regional water stress and no water-related moratorium risk. The supply does not depend on
precipitation. It is lifted from coal seams as a condition of producing the
gas.Answered
Wastewater and discharge infrastructure, on-site treatment
Treatment facilities operate across the position, with 57 pump stations. Water chemistry
against a specific cooling technology, blowdown handling and discharge modeling are worked with the
counterparty’s design engineer.Diligence
4 · Site and land
Land control: ownership, lease terms, easements for pipeline and transmission
Pronghorn controls the surface through its existing leasehold, 1,014,032 acres with 98% held by
production, and holds 1,200-plus acres outright and development-ready. Easements for gas, water and power
routing already exist across the field. There is no land assembly and no unrelated surface owner to negotiate
with.Answered
Zoning and entitlements, setback requirements
The site lies in unincorporated Campbell County territory with no zoning overlay and no
residential setback conflict. Surrounding land use is wells, compression and coal. The county has permitted
industrial energy development continuously for four decades.Answered
Environmental review: Phase I and II ESA, wetlands, species, cultural
resources
Not yet commissioned for the campus parcel. These are standard pre-construction studies and
would run against the selected footprint. The field has a four-decade permitting record in the same
formations and surface, which is useful precedent and not a substitute for a parcel-specific
assessment.Diligence
Geotechnical: soil conditions for foundations and pipeline construction
Not yet performed for the campus parcel. Foundations and buried infrastructure have been
constructed continuously across this field, so regional soil behavior is well characterized in operator
experience. A parcel-specific investigation follows footprint
selection.Diligence
Survey and final footprint
The final campus footprint, acreage and surface access are subject to survey and to
confirmation of surface and mineral estate status at the selected
parcel.Diligence
Physical hazard profile
Seismic very low, no tropical exposure, low grassland wildfire risk, off floodplain, elevation
about 4,500 feet. Heavy-haul access from Interstate 90 is 3.5 miles and already carries turbine- and
mine-scale loads.Answered
Connectivity at the site
Two carriers on the Interstate 90 corridor 3.5 miles north, three carrier-neutral facilities
within 70 miles, and 10.4 miles of operator fiber on the position. The item that needs a build:
Wyoming long-haul routes commonly cap near 144 strands against a hyperscale requirement of 864 to 1,728.
Closing that gap takes a purpose-built lateral and a high-strand-count corridor build, with Wyoming’s
Broadband Development Program (W.S. §9-12-1501) and the Wyoming Broadband Office as the public-private
funding route.In progress
5 · Regulatory and community risk
Moratorium risk: state or local restrictions, pending legislation
No moratorium enacted or proposed in Wyoming. Two instruments are live and relevant: Executive
Order 2026-03, Data Centers the Wyoming Way (June 2026), directing agencies toward water minimization,
protection of ratepayers from cost shifts, community investment and public participation; and a Public
Service Commission rulemaking on non-utility generation, with a hearing held on 5 August 2026. Both are
favorable to a project on its own gas and its own produced water that asks for no rate treatment. For
contrast, Texas paused large-load interconnection approvals in August 2026 pending a joint PUCT and ERCOT
audit. That pause reaches the interconnection queue, which a behind-the-meter campus does not
enter.Answered
Self-supply and behind-the-meter regulatory treatment
Wyoming utility statutes reach service offered “to or for the public” (W.S. §37-1-101), and
Wyoming authority has held that sales to a single purchaser or a small number of identified industrial
customers fall outside that definition. Open items, stated plainly: the landlord and tenant variant is
untested at data center scale; in July 2026 the Commission declined a declaratory petition on co-located
third-party sales as hypothetically posed, leaving the point undecided; the non-utility generation rulemaking
is live; and incumbent utilities may object to a given structure. The final form is a matter for
counsel.Diligence
Community and stakeholder sentiment, public hearing requirements
Supportive. About 1,300 MW of thermal generation already operates within 25 miles and the local
economy was built on producing energy. A project that generates its own power, uses water the field already
produces and asks for no abatement does not present the profile that attracts organized
opposition.Answered
Tax incentives: abatements, PILOT, economic development packages
0% corporate income tax, 0% personal income tax, 0% gross receipts tax, and a statutory sales
and use tax exemption on data center equipment under W.S. §39-15-105 and §39-16-105. Statute does not lapse
and cannot be withdrawn at a county hearing. Thresholds are $5 M of capital infrastructure plus $2 M of
equipment, with UPS, backup generation and specialized HVAC also exempt above $50 M of infrastructure. A
Managed Data Center Cost Reduction Grant of up to $2.25 M per award exists separately. Current-year figures
should be verified with the Wyoming Business Council.Answered
Permitting timeline: air, water, construction sequencing
Air through Wyoming DEQ Air Quality, water through DEQ and the State Engineer, construction
through the county. Sequencing is by phase, so Phase 1 permitting is sized to 100 MW rather than the ultimate
build, and mobile generation can run while that permit is in process. Current status by permit is shared
under NDA.In progress
6 · Counterparty and structure
Who is on the other side of the table
Pronghorn Resources, LLC, the operator of the field. 5,241 operated wells, 3,363 producing,
about $3.2 billion invested in this field to date, and a field team running the asset daily from an office in
Sheridan, Wyoming.Answered
Developer track record and balance sheet strength
Day-to-day operations are run by Keith Knapstad, forty-plus years in the Powder River Basin at
Marathon, J.M. Huber, Evergreen and Nytis. Power delivery is led by Landon Lonsberry, whose prior work as a
project engineer and project manager includes the Line 3 Replacement Project, Trans Mountain, and the Carbon
TerraVault Elk Hills and YEG hydrogen facilities. Financial statements and reserve information are provided
under NDA.Answered
Capital structure and funding of the generation build
Fuel and generation are privately funded, with no ratepayer-funded transmission and no
allocated network cost. Generation is turnkey through Kodiak, so a counterparty is not underwriting Pronghorn
learning the power business. Capital plan, funding sources and corporate structure are provided under
NDA.In progress
Contract structure: construction and timing risk, termination
Addressed in a term sheet covering power, land and fuel together, with capacity, tenure,
pricing basis and a milestone schedule. Capacity lands in blocks as load arrives, so timing risk is sized to
a block instead of a whole plant.Diligence
What Pronghorn requires from a counterparty
A load profile, a cooling approach and a connectivity requirement. Everything downstream of
those three inputs is Pronghorn’s work: the generation block plan, the field development sequence, the
water allocation and the fiber build scope.Answered
Sources. Operator data: Pronghorn operator GIS database, February 2026, and operator-reported production. Transmission, substations and gas pipelines: HIFLD. Generation inventory: EIA-860. Carrier facilities and autonomous system numbers: PeeringDB. Climate: NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals. Tax provisions: Wyoming Business Council, W.S. §39-15-105 and §39-16-105. Interconnection queue volume, median duration and completion rate: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Queued Up: 2026 Edition, as of year-end 2025. ERCOT large-load queue volume and the August 2026 approval pause: ERCOT and PUCT filings and contemporaneous reporting, 3 and 4 August 2026. ERCOT peak demand: US Energy Information Administration.
Basis of presentation. Volumes are operator-reported. Installed capacity, schedule and the resource statement reflect Pronghorn’s current development plan and are subject to field development, equipment delivery, permitting and the timing of a signed offtake. Distances are straight-line from the Energy Park coordinate. Fiber corridors are indicative alignments along Interstate 90 and are not surveyed cable routes. Grid capacity and interconnection timing are as indicated by Powder River Energy Corporation and Bison and are subject to confirmation. Nothing on this site constitutes an offer, a commitment, or a reserve report.
Under non-disclosure
What sits behind the wall
The public site is complete on site fundamentals and deliberately silent on commercial terms. An executed mutual non-disclosure agreement opens the rest.
Commercial
The institutional information sheet, with power price basis, levelized cost, projected cash flows, capital plan, tenor and escalation structures, the generation supply agreement and letters of support.
Technical
Reserve report, field development schedule by unit, unit-level generation specifications and delivery slots, permit application status, and the full GIS package for Google Earth.
Site visit
Walk the Energy Park, the Barber Creek yard and the header interconnects, and meet the field team that runs the asset.
Google Earth package available
The infrastructure platform as a Google Earth file: Energy Park, 230 kV mesh and substation distances, bidirectional gas headers, water network, fiber corridors and asset footprint, each with its own detail panel. Field-level layers for wells, laterals, electric distribution and water storage are included and switched off by default.
Download KMZ
Opens in Google Earth
Pro or Web
Pro or Web
Next step
A load profile is enough to begin.
Send target megawatts at first energization, a ramp schedule and a cooling approach. Pronghorn returns a generation block plan, a field development sequence, a water allocation and a term sheet across power, land and fuel. Capital and structure inquiries reach the same team.