Data centers in Box Elder County, Utah

"The technology choices do change the size of harm a lot, but every gas scenario we evaluate harms health. In either scenario, if you are going to build a facility this size with methane gas, there are going to be health harms."

Hansel Valley residents and farmers voiced alarm over groundwater depletion from 1,712 acre-feet industrial pumping, unmitigated turbine noise from 15 natural gas generation blocks, and the county's refusal to put the zoning overlay to a public ballot pending 1st District Court review.

7.5 GW of thermal generation and 11 data center clusters cannot operate without massive evaporative consumption in an arid Great Salt Lake sub basin, and shifting 1,712 acre-feet of agricultural rights to industrial cooling in Hansel Valley directly threatens down gradient spring flows into the lake.

Closed loop cooling with 10% freshwater makeup from agricultural water right 13-2 preserves Hansel Valley aquifer levels while avoiding any direct Great Salt Lake tributary depletion.

Paul Palandjian, CEO of O'Leary Digital, stated that public sentiment matters and the Box Elder County project includes elements to address public concerns.

Paul Palandjian stated that project personnel received threats of violence driven by misinformation.

Kylie Kremer, senior advisor for Humans First, stated that small towns lack the monetary backing to fight data center development.

Cathy Latham stated people across the country are tired of not being part of data center planning discussions.

Humans First conducted the 29th stop of its nationwide Data Center Revolt tour in Brigham City on October 1, 2026, with the tour starting in Texas on September 12.

Paul Palandjian said 'The project is not on hold,' and that O'Leary Digital is in early design and engineering of the project's infrastructure, gas supply and power generation, with engineering, environmental and economic impact studies underway under guidelines set by the state of Utah and the Military Installation Development Authority.

Kevin O'Leary and Fox News seek dismissal of defamation lawsuit from Stratos opponents; argue statements about Chinese funding connections were protected speech

Tom Huckin, letter writer, opposes planned Box Elder County data center as hastening environmental destruction

Utah poll reached 744 registered voters from Sept. 10 to Sept. 15 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points

Aaron Starks said the four major areas of AI capability are chips, data centers, electricity and talent

Zach Boyd said the U.S. does have a lead over China in AI, depending on how you measure the race, and the nation should be able to maintain it for some time

Stuart Adams lost primary election at least in part because of support for data center

Chinese bots posted claims that AI data centers drive up household electricity prices and strain the grid

X identified bot farm of approximately 200,000 Chinese accounts with 200 posting about data center concerns in August 2026

Mark Shepherd, Clearfield Mayor, voted in April for measures to permit a controversial data center proposal in Box Elder County

Non investor owned utilities raise prices when data centers enter their service areas

A TRG Datacenters study found that Virginia is the state best positioned to facilitate AI infrastructure growth through data centers

Ford Copple, tech policy analyst at Sutherland Institute, published report entitled Building a Human Centered Digital Future: Data Center Job Creation

Sutherland Institute released report on data center economic benefits amid backlash over proposed projects

Both colocation and hyperscale data centers bring short- to medium term, high paying, skilled labor construction jobs

The Sutherland Institute examined employment tied to data center development

Larger hyperscale facilities generally support more permanent workers, particularly when they operate advanced computing equipment or include their own power generation infrastructure

Non investor owned utilities have difficulty handling new data centers and raise prices as a result

Brenna Williams, co founder of Box Elder Accountability Referendum, says data center economic promises are 'all smoke and mirrors'

Hiatt warned data centers coming now, especially larger ones, may have impact on power prices wholesale

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social saying data centers will serve economic self interest and national security, telling supporters to 'let Data Reign' or risk being 'backwards and poor'

The article describes data center opposition as rooted in opposition to water rationing, spikes in electrical bills, and resource plunder affecting quality of life

Ryan Cooper of The American Prospect characterizes the data center rollout as reflective of Silicon Valley arrogance by billionaires promoting AI as revolutionary and requiring trillions in spending

Maddy Oritt, University of Utah director of public finance research, says property tax rates will become volatile as equipment depreciates

Shon Hiatt, associate professor at USC, found investor owned utilities like Rocky Mountain Power experienced no effect on power prices from data center entry from 2020 to 2025

Trump warned that if Americans 'kill the Golden Goose' on data centers, 'you will have only yourselves to blame' and that China is happy about anti data center sentiment

Growing cross partisan grassroots opposition to the Stratos data center in Utah demanding agency, fairness, and accountability in development decisions

People from both political parties are aligned on wanting more say about how policymakers make choices about land and how resources are used

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

The project raises significant concerns regarding energy and water usage, potentially requiring billions of gallons annually in a state already facing drought conditions

Alex Kellgreen created an interactive tool called The Elephant in the Desert showing every data center operating in Utah

Robert Davies, associate professor of physics at Utah State University, calculated the project's electricity consumption at more than double what the developers suggest

Communities deserve clear facts about environmental impacts before major projects are approved

Many data centers already operate in Utah without public protest

Cox criticized MIDA for mission creep in approving large development projects beyond military initiatives

Spencer Cox criticized the Utah Military Installation Development Authority approval of the Stratos data center

Gov. Greg Abbott recently endorsed an 'audit' of data center development while Texas studies their impact

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa asserted that Gov. Greg Abbott is too sympathetic to data centers and that there needs better balance between tech and community concerns

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro shifted his stance from generally supporting data centers to placing restrictions after Republican opposition criticism, recently signing an executive order imposing new rules

Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown is running an ad calling incumbent Sen. Jon Husted the 'face of data centers' for supporting tax breaks and economic benefits

O'Leary told NewsNation that the industry as a whole has screwed up in how it has explained data centers to communities

Kevin O'Leary acknowledged communication failures surrounding his proposed Stratos data center in Box Elder County, Utah

Rep. Jason Thompson is working on a bill to limit MIDA authority to within five miles of military installations

Cox said he would support legislation to regulate how much heat comes from data centers

Gov. Cox supports major reforms to the Utah Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA)

Cox said he would support legislation requiring data centers to install only closed loop systems that use less water

Tim Davis, head of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, told lawmakers the state has 'major gaps' in regulating potential impacts of new data centers, particularly heat and noise

Cox said people need an opportunity to weigh in on data center development and local communities need a better opportunity

Gov. Cox said MIDA has had mission creep and needs major reform

Cox advocated for changes to MIDA including more involvement from the governor's office

Davis stated that the Department of Environmental Quality has not yet begun air quality permitting work for the Box Elder County Stratos project and that once it does, it will take a year just to obtain data on existing air quality before developers can apply

Tim Davis said state agencies have been discussing how to coordinate better on data center approvals

Jake Garfield, Utah Office of Energy Development Deputy Director, said adopting new water efficient technologies is necessary in a state with constrained water resources

Cox said he has no problem whatsoever supporting expanded legislation to include closed loop systems that are more water efficient

Governor Spencer Cox said the process surrounding the Stratos project was not good and particularly criticized the MIDA process

Position note: Follows earlier support for Utah data center expansion, shifting in August 2026 toward calling for reform of the Military Installation Development Authority after the Stratos project controversy.

Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R Taylorsville, expressed concern about Utah giving away significant tax breaks to attract data centers while needing the jobs

Cox said he proposed changes to MIDA nearly two years ago in 2025 but they never passed

Rep. Jon Hawkins, R Pleasant Grove, chair of the Economic Development and Workforce Services Interim Committee, stated that lawmakers have received probably hundreds of emails on data centers and that it is a big concern

Cox said he would be open to requiring all future data center proposals to use closed loop cooling

House Speaker Mike Schultz said legislators are united that they do not want a state full of data centers

Cox said the approval process was not good and called for major reform of the MIDA process

Tim Davis, commissioner of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, noted that no single state agency can fully approve a data center on its own and showed lawmakers a chart displaying many layers of approvals required

Cox stated MIDA has seen mission creep from its initial responsibilities and goals

Cox said he is supportive of major reform to MIDA and will push for that reform

Cox said the Stratos Project in Box Elder County experienced incredible public pushback earlier this year

Governor Cox said his office should 'play a bigger role' in weighing data center projects

Cox is looking for elected officials to have more of a say in what happens with MIDA projects than they have had in the past

Rep. Doug Fiefia, R Herriman, expressed concern about who constituents could hold accountable if something falls through the cracks in a data center approval process

Jessica Wiarda, Salt Lake City resident, expressed concerns about data center effects on wildlife, especially deer, and about lack of public information on the Stratos project before officials voted on it

Physicist Robert Davies of Utah State University estimated the project could reach 16 gigawatts at full capacity

O'Leary said 'I have no interest in causing an environmental disaster on my legacy. That's never going to happen.'

O'Leary said he would produce plans for a one GB facility showing heat profile, light, noise and water use

O'Leary said the data center industry has not communicated what it does to communities

Kevin O'Leary said 'We really screwed this up. We have not communicated what we do.'

Dr. Robert Davies said the project at proposed scale would consume as much power as two states of Utah or three New York Cities

O'Leary said he intends to submit permit applications

O'Leary confirmed 'Am I going to build this data center? The answer is yes.'

After public outcry, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams called on O'Leary to cut the scale by 75 percent

Kevin O'Leary said his company screwed up in communicating the Stratos project

Three fellows at the Aspen Institute's Aspen Policy Academy undertook research into data center growth in Utah and the Great Salt Lake water level as part of the 2024 Science and Technology Policy Fellowship

O'Leary called criticisms of Project Stratos misinformation.

Kevin O'Leary, investor and Shark Tank star, backs Project Stratos AI data center proposal.

Kevin O'Leary said work on the Stratos data center project is 'full steam ahead'

Utah's Military Installation Development Authority said it is on pause, awaiting permit requests for the Stratos project

Governor Cox committed to slowing down data center permits and requiring careful evaluation of environmental impacts

Palandjian said Stratos will not be a net negative to the Great Salt Lake

Palandjian said the data center will cool by recirculating water with little to no ongoing water use

Paul Palandjian, O'Leary Digital CEO, states Stratos will use no more than 1,800 acre feet of water annually at full scale

Feras Batarseh, Virginia Tech AI lab director, expresses skepticism that available technologies will save as much water as O'Leary team claims

Feras Batarseh, Virginia Tech professor and AI lab director, said groundwater is connected to surface water and ten percent of the Great Salt Lake's water comes from groundwater

Curtis said the industry has failed to properly articulate why data centers are needed in the United States and why they should not be built overseas

Curtis said the Stratos Project is a massive data center campus that sparked opposition in the state because of its magnitude and quick approval process through the Military Installation Development Authority

Sen. John Curtis said he is pursuing federal standards to help mitigate distrust around data center projects

Curtis said he wants to work on bringing reliable, predictable measuring techniques at the federal level so the public can have access to standard metrics to determine whether projects are sustainable

Curtis referred to uncertainty about whether data center power is behind the meter or connected to the grid, citing the Stratos Project as an example

Fox News journalist Maria Bartiromo apologized on behalf of Fox News on June 26 for airing unsubstantiated claims about Chinese ties to data center opponents

Kevin O'Leary clarified in a June 25 social media post that he has no evidence that Alliance for a Better Utah or Elevate Strategies are funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party

Utah Senator Todd Weiler apologized on social media on June 30, saying he was duped after posting earlier claims about Chinese funding of Alliance for a Better Utah

Heat generated by the Stratos data center complex could create a local heat island that raises daytime temperatures by five degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures by twenty eight degrees Fahrenheit

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams praised O'Leary's concessions, saying they address concerns and reduce effective project footprint by 75 percent, but opponent Brenna Williams expressed skepticism that Thursday's announcement represents meaningful change.

O'Leary said the project will not be the largest data center in the world

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams announces call for Stratos Project to be scaled back by 75 percent

O'Leary committed to heat capture technology and independent scientific and engineering reviews of environmental impacts, water use, infrastructure demands and long term sustainability

Kevin O'Leary said he would cut 40,000 acre data center project by roughly half in letter to Utah Senate president on June 4, 2026

Kevin O'Leary told Senate President J. Stuart Adams the Stratos project will be scaled back by cutting thousands of acres

O'Leary agreed to dedicate any excess water to the Great Salt Lake

Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams called for 75 percent reduction to Box Elder data center project

Adams demanded that any excess water from the Stratos project be treated and dedicated to the Great Salt Lake at the developer's expense

Kevin O'Leary rejected Adams' demand for 75% reduction, calling it outrageous and comparing it to selling a house and being told to live in the upstairs toilet

Stuart Adams, Utah Senate President, called for 75% reduction in Stratos project area from 40,000 acres to 10,000 acres

Kevin O'Leary says he is not walking away from Utah data center project

Adams cited public feedback and further review as reasons for calling for the 75% reduction

Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams sent a letter to Kevin O'Leary calling for a 75% reduction in the proposed data center project area

Governor Spencer Cox said the Stratos Project will never be powered solely by natural gas; future phases should use nuclear, geothermal, and solar power

Governor Cox acknowledged the process for Stratos Project approval was not good

Most members of the public were unaware of MIDA until the Box Elder County data center project

Tim Davis, commissioner of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, stated the project must comply with federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act requirements and will require air quality permits for natural gas powered generators and diesel fired backup generators

Governor Cox said future decisions like this should involve his office and the Legislature

Governor Spencer Cox acknowledged that the rollout of the controversial Stratos data center project in Box Elder County was not handled well

Kevin O'Leary claimed three Utah individuals opposing the data center project were working against American national security and received financial support from China

Palandjian said data center would use less water than current users (ranchers and farmers) by tapping into existing water rights

Max Roth reported that project renderings portray snow capped mountain peaks not located near the site and omit energy and water infrastructure

Paul Palandjian, CEO of O'Leary Digital, said requests for more study of environmental impacts are welcome and reasonable

Kevin O'Leary stated that ninety percent of the protesters against the data center project were bused in from out of state

Tim Davis, Utah Department of Environmental Quality commissioner, estimated it could take two years for Stratos to receive necessary state approvals

Palandjian said every single landowner in the MIDA project zone has signed a letter of support

Energy experts have calculated the Stratos project would raise Utah's emissions by as much as 64 percent, producing more carbon pollution than the state's entire transportation sector, The Salt Lake Tribune and Grist reported on May 18, 2026, in a story published through their partnership; the outlets did not name the experts.

O'Leary claimed money from Alliance for a Better Utah moved through Arabella Advisors before tracing back to China

"Ninety percent of the protesters at the Box Elder County meeting were bused in from out of state with paid signs, and three individuals opposing the Utah data center project are funded by money tracing back to China."

Position note: Retracted on June 25, 2026 in a written statement acknowledging no evidence linked Utah residents opposing the Stratos project to foreign funding.

Kevin O'Leary said he would release IRS Form 990 documents supporting allegations that opposition groups have ties to China

Gabi Finlayson of Elevate Strategies denied being Chinese foreign operatives and said opposition focuses on impacts to electrical grid, water supply and Great Salt Lake

Elizabeth Hutchings of Alliance for a Better Utah said the group is funded by grassroots donors and Utahns

"That's never going to happen. The very first phase will be natural gas, but the other phases should not be. They should be nuclear, and they should be geothermal, and solar and other technology."

Kevin O'Leary stated that planning and execution of the Stratos Data Center project must be rushed due to intense global competition in AI technology

Thermal output from the Utah data center could raise daytime temperatures by five degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures by up to twenty eight degrees Fahrenheit

Analysis by physics professor Dr. Rob Davies indicates the Stratos data center could release heat equivalent to twenty three atomic bombs daily

Governor Spencer Cox stated taking time does not make things better or safer

Governor Spencer Cox directed the Department of Natural Resources to ensure environmentally sensitive cooling technology is used

Kevin O'Leary claimed China built four hundred gigawatts of new power capacity over twenty four months, with much powering AI data centers

Governor Spencer Cox acknowledged that project opponents have 'real concerns' after initially dismissing their criticism

Kevin O'Leary accused opponents of being proxies for the Chinese government in an interview with Fox News

Kevin O'Leary claimed the Stratos Project could generate 10,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs

Kevin O'Leary stated the United States is falling behind in AI data centers and must catch up due to national security concerns regarding China

The proposed methane fired power plant would double Utah's natural gas usage and increase the state's carbon emissions by 50 percent

Utah Military Installation Development Authority stated the Stratos Project aligns with long term national defense, energy resilience, and economic development goals

County officials claim the data center will use less water than current agricultural land usage, resulting in a net benefit for the Great Salt Lake

No Environmental Impact Statement or official research on exact water and power demands for the Stratos Project has been published

Box Elder County Commissioner Tyler Vincent said today's decision is just the beginning of the oversight process

Kevin O'Leary, developer, stated sustainability is at the heart of proposals regarding air quality, water use, heat and noise pollution

Lee Perry, Box Elder County Commissioner, said the vote is not the end of the process and the project will be subject to continued oversight and regulatory review

Palandjian said they will preserve hunting sanctuaries and have leaseback agreements with ranchers for continued grazing operations

Palandjian said Kevin O'Leary was an environmental studies major and cares deeply about environmental issues

Palandjian said the power plant will produce only 5 percent of the carbon emissions of similar plants

Palandjian said the data center will use a modern closed loop cooling system with water and glycol that will use significantly less water than agriculture on the same plots of land

Palandjian said O'Leary Digital is working out plans to offer AI literacy courses for area schools and help with undergraduate and graduate programs

Governor Cox stated that concerns about water and power use contain incorrect information and the state will not allow centers to take all power or increase utility rates.

Governor Cox stated the project is built for this use, is right next to a natural gas pipeline so they can build their own energy, and is not next to somebody's house.