Evansville, WY — A new statewide effort, the Wyoming Data Center Refugee Project, is positioning Wyoming as a destination for professionals, entrepreneurs, and small technical firms seeking relief from the rapid hyperscale AI data‑center buildout sweeping across the nation. The initiative aims to attract high‑value residents and businesses who want quiet, stability, and room to grow — without the industrial noise, water strain, and land‑use pressure that hyperscale development brings to many states.
The project’s founders, Kevin Hool and Kris Hool, say the concept emerged after Prometheus Hyperscale proposed building a Hyperscale AI data‑center campus near their property in Converse County. Their research into hyperscale development revealed a striking national pattern: residents living near hyperscale campuses consistently report dissatisfaction, and upscale neighborhoods in major hyperscale regions show rising home‑listing inventories and early signs of outward migration.
Across the country, people living near hyperscale corridors are listing their homes because Hyperscale AI development keeps expanding in places where local governments have allowed the Hyperscale buildout to continue,” Kevin Hool said. “People are looking to escape, and they want a place where they can breathe and relax again—and Wyoming is one of the last states that can genuinely offer that.”
A New Kind of Economic Migration
The Wyoming Data Center Refugee Project focuses on attracting what Kevin Hool calls “high‑mobility builders” — individuals and small firms that can operate anywhere but prefer clean air, quiet surroundings, and a supportive business environment. These include remote‑first professionals, mobile manufacturing shops, motorsports‑adjacent technical trades, and smaller engineering teams.
“These aren’t distressed movers,” Hool explained. “These are successful people — entrepreneurs, engineers, fabricators, designers — who want a better quality of life. They bring their businesses, their talent, and their spending power with them. That’s the kind of growth Wyoming deserves.”
Projected Economic Impact
If the project succeeds, Wyoming could see $21.5 to $47.5 billion in new economic activity over the next decade, based on modeling that combines Migration‑Driven Economic Impact Modeling used by the IRS and Federal Reserve, Small‑Business Relocation & Multiplier Modeling commonly applied by the SBA and Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Regional Input–Output Modeling used by state economic‑development offices. Together, these frameworks project how incoming high‑wealth households and relocated technical firms from hyperscale‑impacted states would generate sustained, compounding growth across Wyoming communities.
Hool emphasized that this growth model is fundamentally different from hyperscale development. “Hyperscale data centers consume land, water, grid capacity, and natural gas at a rate that rural states simply can’t sustain,” Hool said. “The Data Center Refugee Project brings prosperity without draining Wyoming’s natural resources. It’s economic growth that protects the Wyoming way of life.”
Integration Into Motorsports Culture
The Hool brothers are using their 40 years of motorsports experience to spearhead the promotion of the project. They are planning a promotional campaign with their K&K Motorsports’ Top Alcohol Funny Car racing program, where the Wyoming Data Center Refugee Project branding will appear throughout the 2027 season. Kevin Hool, the team’s co-owner and crew chief, says motorsports is the perfect platform to reach the project’s target audience.
“Motorsports attracts builders, fabricators, engineers, and entrepreneurs — exactly the people who thrive in Wyoming,” Hool said. “By integrating the project into our motorsports program, we’re showing that Wyoming is a place where high‑skill, high‑tech, hands‑on people can build their future. It’s a message that resonates deeply in the racing community.”
Not the First Wyoming-Themed Racing Effort By The Team
The Hools campaigned a Wyoming‑themed promotional car during the 2014 NHRA season — the first state‑themed entry the NHRA, or arguably any major racing series, had ever seen. 50 businesses from across Wyoming joined forces to fund the effort, creating one of the most unified statewide sponsorship campaigns in modern racing. The season proved successful, highlighted by multiple wins on the NHRA Lucas Oil Series and capped with the prestigious ‘Best Appearing Car’ award at the NHRA North Carolina Nationals in Charlotte.
“That car didn’t win as many races as some of our other cars, but it’s still my favorite,” said Kevin Hool. “As a racer, you’re always proud when a company trusts you to represent their brand. But when you get to represent your home state all across the country — well, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
A Brighter Future for Local Communities
Although early in it’s development, the Hools say many local leaders and business leaders have expressed interest and optimism about the project’s potential to strengthen Wyoming communities with new jobs, new services, and new investment — all without sacrificing the state’s rural character.
The Hool brothers believe the project represents a turning point. “Wyoming doesn’t need to chase hyperscale development to grow,” said team co-owner and driver Kris Hool. We can attract people who want to live here, work here, and invest here — people who value the peace, the space, and the freedom Wyoming offers. This is a brighter, cleaner, more sustainable future for our state.”
Although the Hools no longer run a full‑time NHRA schedule as they once did, they are preparing a targeted 2027 racing effort focused on regions showing the strongest public disapproval of hyperscale expansion. Kevin Hool says this strategic motorsports presence will help amplify the message of the Wyoming Data Center Refuge Project while the team continues working with local, county, and state leaders to establish long‑term safety zones that protect incoming families and businesses from future hyperscale buildout.
“We want people who choose Wyoming to know they’ll never face the same Hyperscale AI industrial pressure they’re escaping,” Hool said. “This is about building a future where communities are healthy and genuinely prosperous.”
Wyoming Data Center Facts | Graphics: Racer.Media Creative | Photo: K&K Motorsports
