Google Signs 20-Year, 702 MW AEP Fuel-Cell PPA to Secure Cheyenne AI Power

A. Key facts

On October 14, 2026, AEP announced a 20-year PPA with Google supporting a 702 MW fuel-cell facility near Cheyenne.

Cheyenne Fuel Cell LLC is approximately 92% owned by AEP and 8% by Basalt-advised funds. Construction is targeted for 2026 and full operations by end-2028 using Bloom Energy technology.

The contract is officially confirmed, but power pricing, minimum volumes, termination compensation and Google's accounting treatment were not disclosed.

B. Business significance · InveDeck interpretation

Google is securing for 20 years the key constraint on large AI data centers: power. Fuel cells can provide local generation faster than waiting for major transmission expansion.

Google also contracted for new generation with Black Hills in the same region. This represents a diversified portfolio of grid supply and distributed generation.

A long-term PPA improves supply visibility but may create fixed or minimum-purchase costs if demand disappoints. The risk cannot be quantified without terms.

C. Quantifiable impact

AEP's approximately $4 billion investment divided by 702 MW implies about $5.70 million per MW. This is project investment density, not Google's contract price or capex.

The theoretical maximum output is about 6.15 TWh per year and 123 TWh over 20 years. Actual generation and consumption depend on availability and contract terms and are not demand forecasts.

Google's annual power expense, prepayments, guarantees, debt or lease recognition cannot be calculated from disclosures.

D. Link to earnings and expectations

Alphabet's Q2 2026 revenue was $119.796 billion (+24% YoY), Google Cloud revenue was $24.768 billion (+82%) and Cloud RPO was $513.9 billion.

Q2 OCF was $39.069 billion, capex $44.924 billion and FCF negative $5.855 billion; 2026 capex guidance was $195-$205 billion. The PPA evidences execution, not a guidance change.

At June-end, long-term debt carrying value was $98.2 billion and purchase and other contractual obligations, including infrastructure and energy contracts, were $811.0 billion. Inclusion of this PPA is unconfirmed.

E. Industry and supply chain · InveDeck interpretation

Bloom Energy gains a 702 MW long-duration demand anchor, while AEP and Basalt gain a flagship large-load project outside AEP's traditional territory.

Power availability in 2028 improves medium-term visibility for TPU/GPU, HBM, servers, networking, storage, cooling and substations, but does not permit supplier revenue estimates.

Distributed fuel cells may bypass grid-interconnection delays, while gas supply, emissions, carbon capture and generation reliability remain operating risks.

F. What to watch next

• PPA price, minimum volumes, inflation indexation and termination compensation
• Phased commissioning, availability and Google's load curve
• Google prepayments, guarantees, lease or contractual-obligation treatment
• Bloom Energy deliveries, gas sourcing and carbon-capture plan
• Alphabet second-half capex and FCF, plus Cloud RPO conversion