Thanks to you, the Stratos Project’s top supporters have started backpedaling.
Stuart Adams, senate president and long-standing chair of Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, was one of the earliest proponents of a data center in Box Elder County. Political backlash appears to have changed his mind.
Earlier this week, Adams sent a letter to project financier Kevin O’ Leary calling for a 75% size reduction to the proposed development. The letter demanded more robust environmental precautions, greater transparency and public engagement, and a commitment to send treated water to Great Salt Lake.
Although Kevin O’Leary initially railed against Adams’ “shopping list” as an attempt to “screw” him over, he announced plans to dramatically reduce the project’s footprint on Thursday morning. O’Leary’s concessions don’t achieve the 75% reduction demanded by Adams, but the project is now projected to use about 20,000 acres, rather than the original 40,000.
This announcement comes after developers withdrew two water rights applications facing unprecedented public protest.
There has been no indication that officials intend to reduce the project’s energy demand—9 gigawatts, more than double the state’s entire energy use—but the decreased acreage is still a step in the right direction.
Further progress comes from Governor Spencer Cox. While he called mandatory permitting and regulatory delays the “dumbest thing ever” on April 30th, he apologized for those comments and pushed for a “higher bar for how these projects are evaluated and [assurances] that economic strength and environmental stewardship go hand in hand,” by May 29th.
Cox released an executive order later that day to reinforce these priorities. He emphasized the need to protect Great Salt Lake and statewide water quality, minimize the negative impacts of data centers on local economies and air quality, shield utility ratepayers from inflated infrastructure costs, and provide greater transparency and opportunities for public comment.
Across the state, elected officials have been publicly speaking out against unchecked data center construction.
When House Speaker Mike Shultz, who owns property near the proposed Box Elder site, was suspected of ties to the project, he rejected those claims and expressed support for environmental studies and local referendums on the project.
Down in Iron County, officials imposed a 180-day moratorium on data center construction to review zoning laws and regulations. County Commissioner Paul Cozzens told KSL that they “wanted to pump the brakes…to do some more research to make sure that the public’s protected.”
Let’s be clear: while we appreciate our public officials’ efforts, the real work that we’re recognizing here is yours. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t packed meeting rooms, crowded inboxes, filled voicemails, filed formal protests, and maintained continuous pressure on the people elected to represent you.
While we genuinely hope that these political decisions stemmed from concern over Utah’s environment, water resources, and rural communities, we also acknowledge that it’s an election year, with primaries right around the corner. But instead of that being cause for cynicism, we think it’s cause for celebration.
You made it so politically unpopular to support this data center that any elected official backing it seriously jeopardizes their chances of reelection. You were so loud and so effective that you could not be ignored. THAT’s why we’re celebrating.
So yes, 20,000 acres of data center land is better than 40,000 acres. But the proposal is still a 9 GW facility with no impact studies in a region facing severe water stress.
We can celebrate these wins without becoming complacent. We can keep working to promote public transparency and accountability without dismissing our progress. We can thank our public officials for changing their minds without endorsing the decisions that necessitated that change in the first place.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate all the good our community has accomplished this month. And then let’s get back to work.
