Jan 18, 2026
Prometheus Announces Using Federally Suspended DEI Agreements in Casper & Evanston
Just last week on Jan 13th, Cowboy State Daily published sponsored content for Prometheus Hyperscale:
Prometheus Hyperscale Sets New National Standard For Data Center Sites
Prometheus believes they are setting a “new national standard” by using “formal Community Benefit Agreements” which are actually one of many agreements and plans that the Trump administration discontinued in Jan 2025 because they are a part and parcel to “Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs” initiated by the Biden admin. According to this Jan 28, 2025 Office of Science/Dept of Energy article:
The President has issued 43 Executive Orders, Presidential Memoranda, and Proclamations, including an Executive Order entitled Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing. DOE is moving aggressively to implement this Executive Order by directing the suspension of the following:
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, procedures, programs, activities, and reviews involving or relating to DEI objectives and principles until further notice;
- Requiring, using, or enforcing Community Benefits Plans (CBP); and
- Requiring, using, or enforcing Justice40 requirements, conditions, or principles in any loans, loan guarantees, grants, cost sharing agreements, funding opportunity announcements, contracts, contract awards, or any other source of financial assistance.
Columbia University refers to this as a ‘Trumpian backslide‘ and encourages state legislature’s to codify these Biden DEI Community Benefits mechanisms into state law.
This is something for citizens to proactively watch for during 2026 Budget Session which runs February 9th to March 11th.
Furthermore, while the Trump administration has suspended requirements for these Biden admin initiated DEI frameworks, that does not mean local government entities in Wyoming will not sign-on to these plans/agreements with companies looking to bolster their portfolios with woke components.
The image below illustrates the DEI elements embedded within these plans and agreements:
(https://iejusa.org/policy-reversal-how-executive-orders-are-attempting-to-reshape-does-community-benefit-plans/)
Citizens should be aware that these community benefits frameworks include Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), Community Benefits Ordinances (CBOs), Host Community Agreements (HCAs), Project Workforce Agreements (PWAs) and Community Benefit Plans (CBPs).
According to the Anti-Displacment Network, “Community benefits agreements (CBAs) or ordinances (CBOs) are legally binding contracts between community groups and developers or between local governments and developers that require developers to provide amenities tailored to community needs, including the needs of small businesses. These benefits can include provisions for affordable housing, local hiring, living wages, specific types of retail, community service and program funding, and prioritizing and preserving neighborhood-serving businesses.”
These Community benefits agreements and plans are ultimately public-private-partnerships picking winners and losers across the community while dictating hiring practices, wages, and what small businesses as well as community services are directed priorities established by partnerships between companies and local governments.
This announcement by Prometheus elaborates on how CBAs for their data centers projects (Casper and Evanston) “build on Prometheus’s broader Build Wyoming campaign, launched [Jan 6, 2026] to ensure that the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the state delivers lasting economic value for Wyoming communities, workers, and families”.
Prometheus mentions transparency several times in their sponsored article yet never once provides an actual copy of their formal Community Benefit Agreements with Casper/Natrona County, or Glenrock/Converse County, or Evanston/Uinta County.
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