The Stratos Project is a proposed data center campus in Hansel Valley, Box Elder County, Utah, north of the Great Salt Lake. O’Leary Digital and the Military Installation Development Authority, MIDA, propose it. MIDA’s project page puts it at approximately 9 GW at full buildout, with an onsite natural gas power plant, on about 40,000 acres of unincorporated land, for AI, cloud and government or defense use by more than one tenant [1].
The record lists Stratos as waiting on permits, the status of its latest published entry. The record counts two published Utah projects by status: one proposed, Volition Industries Spanish Fork, and one waiting on permits, Stratos [2].
What happened, in order
Each entry is dated as the record dates it: by the event where a source gives the day, by the source’s own date where it does not.
- February 2026
O'Leary announced plans for a data center in Hansel Valley, according to Yahoo Finance's account of August 13 [3].
- April 2026
MIDA first approved the project, KUER reported on August 20 [4].
- May 4, 2026
Box Elder County commissioners voted unanimously for two resolutions consenting to a MIDA project area for a 40,000 acre campus with its own natural gas power plant, at a special meeting attended by about 1,100 people [5].
- May 5, 2026
The first water right change application, filed by the landowner to move water from irrigation to industrial use, was withdrawn, and the company said it would refile [6].
- May 8, 2026
O'Leary told CNN the project could cost more than 100 billion dollars and aimed to have the first gigawatt operating within two years [7].
- May 11, 2026
The Box Elder Accountability Referendum filed two referendum applications to put the approval before voters, which would have required 5,422 signatures in 45 days [8].
- May 14, 2026
Demonstrators at the Utah Capitol delivered a letter signed by about 6,000 people asking Governor Spencer Cox to take binding action [9].
- May 22, 2026
The second water right change application, filed by Murray Hollow L.C., was withdrawn by a notice that gave no reason, after nearly 700 protest letters [10].
- May 23, 2026
Hundreds rallied on the Capitol steps demanding a halt [11].
- May 28, 2026
County Attorney Stephen R. Hadfield rejected three referendum applications, finding the resolutions were administrative actions that cannot be referred to voters under Utah law [12].
- June 1, 2026
Senate President J. Stuart Adams wrote to O'Leary demanding a reduction of at least 75%, from 40,000 acres to approximately 10,000, with excess water treated and dedicated to the Great Salt Lake, among other conditions [13].
- June 4, 2026
The Utah Senate said O'Leary had agreed to its demands, including reducing the effective size of the project area by 75% and a commitment of water for the lake [14].
- June 10, 2026
The county commissioners passed a 180 day moratorium on new data centers and data center power plants on unincorporated county land, which county officials said does not apply to the Stratos project area under MIDA's land use authority [15].
- August 13, 2026
O'Leary agreed to cut the project by half, to 20,000 acres, Moneywise reported [16].
- August 20, 2026
Governor Cox said the approval process was not good and that he would push legislation to reform MIDA, including a larger role for the governor's office [17]. Utah News Dispatch reported that day that litigation over the referendum had complicated the project's future [18].
- August 28, 2026
A Yahoo News report described MIDA and the county as tied up in lawsuits connected to Stratos and the failed referendum [19].
- September 11, 2026
KSL described plans for 20,000 acres with up to 9.5 gigawatts of power generating capacity [20].
Two figures for the same thing
Where the record holds more than one figure for the same thing, every figure stands. These blocks are the record’s own, rendered from its rows; each source line links to the record’s source list.
Capacity at full buildout
5 figures, 5 sourcesShow each source's words
- 16 GW, Robert Davies, Utah State University, via Yahoo Finance: Physicist Robert Davies of Utah State University estimated the project could reach 16 gigawatts at full capacity
- 9 GW, YouTube: The Stratos Project has a total planned power capacity of 9 gigawatts at full buildout across 40,000 acres in Box Elder County
- 9 GW, The Christian Science Monitor: At full build, the Stratos Project estimates it would consume 9 gigawatts of electricity
- 9.5 GW, KSL: Stratos project plans call for a complex of data centers on 20,000 acres in Hansel Valley with up to 9.5 gigawatts of power generating capacity
- 3 GW, YouTube: Phase 1 of the project requires 3 gigawatts of power
Project footprint
3 figures, 4 sourcesUtah Senate, letter hosted by Utah Public Radio, Jun 1, 2026
Show each source's words
- 40,000 acres, Military Installation Development Authority: The Stratos project area is about 40,000 acres of unincorporated land in Hansel Valley
- 20,000 acres, Yahoo Finance: O'Leary conceded to cut the project back by half to 20,000 acres
- 20,000 acres, KSL: Stratos project plans call for a complex of data centers on 20,000 acres in Hansel Valley
- 10,000 acres, Utah Senate, letter hosted by Utah Public Radio: Senate President J. Stuart Adams demanded the project area be reduced by at least 75%, from 40,000 acres to approximately 10,000 acres
Construction jobs
1 figure, 1 sourceShow each source's words
- 10,000 construction jobs, Yahoo Finance: Project backers cited roughly 10,000 construction jobs
Permanent jobs
1 figure, 1 sourceShow each source's words
- 2,000 jobs, Yahoo Finance: Project backers cited roughly 2,000 permanent positions
What each side said
Each pair sets one side beside the other, labeled as the record has the speaker. The text is the statement row as recorded; whether it was quoted or paraphrased opens with the Researcher toggle.
Scientist
The thermal energy coming off the Stratos Project could be equivalent to 23 atomic bombs being deposited on this valley every day in the form of waste heat, potentially raising nighttime temperatures by as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit
Developer
O'Leary said 'I have no interest in causing an environmental disaster on my legacy. That's never going to happen.'
Referendum cofounder
Brenna Williams, cofounder of Box Elder Accountability Referendum, says economic benefits are 'all smoke and mirrors'
State authority
Utah Military Installation Development Authority stated the Stratos Project aligns with long term national defense, energy resilience, and economic development goals
In running text, because the record holds no counter statement: Maddie Sullivan, a Salt Lake City resident, wrote that the project could require billions of gallons of water a year [24]. The record holds no statement from the developer or from MIDA on how much water the campus would use. It holds O’Leary’s pledge to release plans for a one gigawatt facility detailing its heat, light, noise and water profile [25], and a video’s account of county officials claiming the campus would use less water than the farmland now on the site [23].
Tim Davis, commissioner of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, told lawmakers the department has not begun air quality permitting for Stratos, and that a year of data on existing air quality is needed first [26].
O’Leary said “We really screwed this up. We have not communicated what we do,” that he would build the data center and that he intends to submit permit applications [3]. One video on the record states that Stratos plans to generate its own power on site with natural gas from the Ruby pipeline and sell excess electricity to the grid [27]. The record does not weigh these claims against each other.
What is not on the record
The record’s own figures for water, noise, permanent jobs and annual tax read not disclosed. One video figure says the developers are purchasing 13,000 acre feet of water rights [23]; no application on the record states what the campus would use. The primary documents the record does not yet hold, eight today, from the agreement that fixes the reduced project area to any named tenant, are listed on the record page under What the record lacks, each as what the record will add when it has it.
What the record will watch for
The refiled water application the company said would come [6]. The permit applications and the one gigawatt plans O’Leary said he would submit and release [3] [25]. Air quality permitting, not begun as of August 20 [26]. The lawsuits over the referendum [19]. The MIDA legislation Cox said he would push [17], and Representative Jason Thompson’s bill to limit MIDA’s authority to within five miles of military installations [28]. What follows the 180 day moratorium of June 10 [15].
How to cite this
Cite the record page: Data Center Record, “Stratos Project,” https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/stratos-box-elder-ut, last verified September 14, 2026, CC BY 4.0. To report an error, use the Report a change link on that page or write to corrections@datacenterrecord.org; every correction is logged at https://datacenterrecord.org/corrections.
Sources
- Military Installation Development Authority, Stratos Project Area, https://www.midaut.org/stratos
- Data Center Record, Utah, https://datacenterrecord.org/states/ut
- Yahoo Finance, August 13, 2026, https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/kevin-oleary-says-botched-messaging-161000532.html
- KUER, August 20, 2026, https://www.kuer.org/politics-government/2026-08-20/stratos-backlash-leaves-gov-cox-lawmakers-open-to-more-data-center-oversight
- Utah News Dispatch, May 4, 2026, https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/05/04/box-elder-commissioners-approve-data-center/
- Utah Public Radio, May 19, 2026, https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2026-05-19/box-elder-data-center-protest
- CNN, May 9, 2026, https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/09/tech/ai-data-center-utah-kevin-oleary-opposition
- Fox 13, May 11, 2026, https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/box-elder-county/group-files-application-to-challenge-box-elder-county-data-center-approval
- The Salt Lake Tribune, May 14, 2026, https://www.sltrib.com/news/2026/05/14/photos-utahns-urge-cox-stop-box/
- KSL, May 27, 2026, https://www.ksl.com/article/51503347/second-water-rights-request-withdrawn-for-embattled-box-elder-county-data-center-proposal
- Utah News Dispatch, May 23, 2026, https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/05/23/hundreds-demand-halt-on-box-elder-data-center-plan/
- Utah News Dispatch, May 28, 2026, https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/05/28/box-elder-county-data-center-referendum-denied/
- Letter from Senate President J. Stuart Adams to Kevin O’Leary, June 1, 2026, hosted by Utah Public Radio, https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/19/bd/abf5d30e4d01a41cd0c162e90638/oleary-letter-6-1-2026.pdf
- Utah Senate, June 4, 2026, https://senate.utah.gov/oleary-concedes-to-president-adams-demands-including-75-reduction-in-proposed-data-center-project-area-and-new-water-for-great-salt-lake/
- Utah Public Radio, June 17, 2026, https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2026-06-17/box-elder-data-center-moratorium-stratos
- Moneywise, August 13, 2026, https://moneywise.com/news/top-stories/kevin-oleary-utah-data-center-stratos-project-backlash
- Fox 13, August 20, 2026, https://www.fox13now.com/news/politics/cox-pushes-mida-reforms-after-data-center-blowup
- Utah News Dispatch, August 20, 2026, https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/08/20/after-data-center-debacle-gov-cox-says-mida-has-had-mission-creep-and-needs-major-reform/
- Yahoo News, August 28, 2026, https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/utah-governor-calls-box-elder-020000590.html
- KSL, September 11, 2026, https://www.ksl.com/article/51622427/clearfield-leaders-ok-180-day-moratorium-on-data-center-development
- The Christian Science Monitor, September 1, 2026, https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2026/0901/utah-data-centers-stratos-project
- KSL, September 2, 2026, https://www.ksl.com/article/news/utah/science-and-tech/utah-data-centers-promise-jobs-and-revenue-but-opponents-say-benefits-disappear/51619417
- YouTube, a video on the record, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0MRi-x9q4w
- The Salt Lake Tribune, letter, September 1, 2026, https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/2026/09/01/letter-communities-deserve-know/
- Yahoo Finance, August 19, 2026, https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/kevin-oleary-admits-not-properly-003010592.html
- Utah News Dispatch, August 20, 2026, https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/08/20/utah-lawmakers-discuss-data-centers-after-protests-and-political-fallout/
- YouTube, Investigating the Stratos Data Center, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8xnT4LpCcg
- KSL, August 21, 2026, https://www.ksl.com/article/51614434/cox-calls-for-major-reform-to-mida-after-data-center-pushback