Stratos proposes 9 GW Utah campus

Box Elder County commissioners approved the Stratos Project on May 4, clearing the way for a 40,000-acre AI and energy campus in western Utah that developers say could scale to 9 gigawatts. County and state project materials describe the site as a phased data-center development in Hansel Valley and Locomotive Valley, backed by O’Leary Digital, West GenCo and the Utah Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA. Public attention widened this week after maps and project details circulated on X, reviving questions about power, water and permitting. The 9-gigawatt figure is the number driving the debate. Utah’s Geological Survey said the state’s 2024 electricity consumption was about 34,505 gigawatt-hours, which works out to an average load of roughly 3.9 gigawatts across the year. That makes Stratos’ full-build target larger than Utah’s current average statewide electricity use, based on state data. (boxeldercountyut.gov) ### Where exactly is this project supposed to go? Hansel Valley in Box Elder County is the planned location for the first phase. Box Elder County said in a May 4 release that it approved a resolution allowing MIDA to create the Stratos project area in an unzoned part of western Box Elder County. MIDA says the project area covers about 40,000 acres and is intended for a large-scale data and energy campus tied to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and defense-related workloads. (d36oiwf74r1rap.cloudfront.net) The Ruby Pipeline is central to the site selection. Project materials say the interstate natural-gas pipeline runs through Hansel Valley and would allow on-site power generation rather than relying solely on the public grid. A Box Elder County fact sheet says the project is designed for up to 9 gigawatts of power generation in Utah as part of a broader multi-site strategy. ### Why is 9 gigawatts such a flashpoint? (boxeldercountyut.gov) Nine gigawatts is unusually large for a single proposed campus. The Stratos Project website says the site would be powered by its own gas plant and eventually consume up to 9 gigawatts of electricity. The same site says Phase 1 was approved in May 2026 and that the project is expected to be built in stages. Utah scientists and local critics have focused on what that scale could mean on the ground. (thestratosproject.com) The Salt Lake Tribune, citing Utah State University physics professor Robert Davies, reported that the project could release an additional 7 to 8 gigawatts of waste heat into the surrounding environment. Davies told the newspaper that “nine gigawatts” is hard to grasp and said his calculations left him alarmed. ### Who is backing it, and what do officials say? Kevin O’Leary is the highest-profile backer attached to the project. The Stratos Project site says O’Leary Digital is working with West GenCo and MIDA, the state authority that says the development is meant to support military readiness, national security and economic competitiveness. Box Elder County commissioners approved the project after a contentious public meeting that drew large opposition crowds, according to local coverage. (sltrib.com) Box Elder County officials said on May 4 that their vote authorized MIDA to initiate the project area. MIDA says the campus will move forward in phases and remain subject to state-required environmental review, infrastructure coordination and community engagement. ### What are opponents fighting over now? Water and environmental impacts are the immediate pressure points. (thestratosproject.com) KPCW reported that Box Elder County residents have begun referendum efforts to overturn the county approval. AOL, citing local reporting, said a second water-rights application tied to the project has already triggered formal protests. (boxeldercountyut.gov) Air and power permits are still ahead. Baxtel, which tracks data-center projects, says an air-permit notice of intent had not yet been filed as of this week and described an engineering review that could take 150 to 200 days; that timeline should be treated as an industry tracker’s account rather than an official state filing. What is official is that MIDA says the project still faces environmental review and infrastructure coordination before construction proceeds. (kpcw.org) ### What happens next in Utah? State-level reviews will determine whether Stratos moves from local approval to construction. MIDA says the project will be developed in phases, and Box Elder County’s May 4 action was only the consent step for creating the project area. Opponents are pursuing referendum and water-rights challenges, while future filings on air, water and infrastructure will provide the next concrete markers for the project’s timeline. (boxeldercountyut.gov) (baxtel.com)