If built, the Stratos Project would be the largest data center in the world, covering roughly 40,000 acres in Hansel Valley. To put that into scale, it would be larger than Bryce Canyon National Park and roughly three times the size of Brigham City. 

While Utah State Senate President Stuart Adams and Kevin O’Leary have released statements regarding the possibility of reducing the project area size, we are waiting to review statutory or contractual updates to verify these commitments.

Approval is being sought by Canadian entrepreneur and Shark Tank celebrity Kevin O’Leary, Alpine-based energy company West GenCo, and Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). 

Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) is a state entity originally created to support economic development near military installations. In January, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development referred the Stratos Project to MIDA after determining that the project had a military use, as energy resilience can strengthen national security. 

MIDA has played a major role in advancing the Stratos Project by approving development agreements, overseeing planning processes, and helping facilitate infrastructure and economic incentives tied to the project. 

The agency’s involvement has become one of the most controversial aspects of the project, as MIDA’s governance structure gives significant power to state-appointed boards and development interests while limiting local oversight.

Five of MIDA’s seven voting board members are appointed by the governor. Senate President Stuart Adams and Senator Jerry Stevenson both serve on the board and have received campaign donations from developers of MIDA projects. Stuart Adams’ PAC received $135,000 from MIDA-connected donors days after approving the Stratos Project.

Local residents have had limited opportunities for input. Because the project is being advanced through MIDA rather than traditional county planning processes, key decisions have occurred at the state level instead of through Box Elder County’s normal land use and zoning channels. 

Commissioner Lee Perry acknowledged that the approval process felt rushed and stated that state officials, developers, and landowners had been discussing the project long before county officials received formal notice. According to Perry, Box Elder County commissioners did not receive formal confirmation of the project until late March 2026, only weeks before the county voted on the development agreement. 

Commissioners gave residents a little over a week of notice before approving this project. Residents and advocacy groups have argued that this timeline provided limited opportunity for public review and input on a project of unprecedented scale for the region.

Around 40,000-acres of land have been allocated to the project. This area consists of privately held land that has either been purchased or is under agreement with landowners. The military land required under state law for MIDA oversight is located on an entirely separate parcel west of the Great Salt Lake.

You can participate in several ways:

• Volunteer with B.E.A.R. 
• Talk with your friends, family, and neighbors about your concerns with the Stratos Data Center Project
• Share B.E.A.R.’s posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok @bear_the_fight
• Donate to help fund B.E.A.R.’s campaign
• Submit comments or protests during water rights, air quality, and environmental permitting processes
• Attend MIDA board meetings and provide public comments
• Contact state legislators, county officials, and the Governor’s Office to share concerns
• Contact your legislators and ask them to publicly oppose the project
• Engage with community groups tracking the project
• Stay informed about new applications, filings, and public hearings

Visit StratosWatch.org for additional information, updates, resources, and more ways to stay engaged

On March 25, 2026, Bar H Ranch—a private landowner in Hansel Valley—filed a water right change application to convert 1,900 acre-feet from agricultural to industrial use for the Stratos Project. After almost 4,000 formal protests were filed with the Utah Division of Water Rights, Bar H. Ranch withdrew their application and said they intend to refile. Refilling would effectively restart the administrative process and bypass the thousands of formal protests already submitted. 

Also on April 28, Murray Hollow L.C., a private landowner, filed a separate application seeking to convert roughly 11 acre-feet—enough water to meet the needs of 22 Utah households—from agricultural to industrial use for the Stratos Project. Less than a month later, on May 22, Murry Hollow L.C also formally withdrew its application from the Division of Water Rights.

HB 60, passed during the 2026 legislative session:

• Limits the State Engineer’s ability to consider broader community harms – such as public health impacts, environmental collapse, or downstream consequences – by narrowing the definition of “public welfare” to issues tied only to beneficial use and the quantity, quality, or availability of water
• Direct the State Engineer to only consider protests to the extent that they match the legal grounds the State Engineer may use to approve or deny an application (quantity, quality, availability, etc.)
• Narrows who are considered an “aggrieved person” for the purposes of judicial review, limiting court challenges to those who have experienced a direct, personal harm to their water right.

But in practice—unless you plan on protesting an application in court—your ability to protest future applications will not be affected.

To be most effective, protests should focus on issues tied to water quality, quantity, availability, and beneficial use.

The citizen’s referendum is an effort by Box Elder Country residents to place the Stratos Project on the ballot so voters can decide whether the project should move forward. The effort was spearheaded by Box Elder County residents, Brenna Williams, Brigette Cottam, and Shannon Barton. Together, they have created the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.), a nonpartisan, grassroots coalition of local residents formed in response to the proposed Stratos Project. 

Following the Box Elder Country Commission’s approval of Resolution 26-11 and 26-12, local residents gathered signatures to qualify two referendums that would put data center plans on the ballot in November. The two applications aimed to address the approved resolutions that gave consent for the project and the agreement between Box Elder County and MIDA.  

On May 28th, 2026, Box Elder County Attorney Stephen Hadfield rejected both referendums, concluding that the resolutions approved by the Box Elder County Commission were administrative actions rather than legislative actions and therefore were not subject to referendum under Utah law. In his statement Hadfield also acknowledged that referendum sponsors who disagreed with his interpretation could appeal the decision to the courts.

B.E.A.R. organizers disagree with the County Attorney’s determinations and filed an appeal on June 3 to Utah’s First District Court, where the legal question of whether the resolutions are subject to referendum will be considered. 

The full impact of the Stratos Project on Great Salt Lake is currently unknown, largely because of the lack of information about the project. 

Based on what we do know, the proposed Stratos Project could affect Great Salt Lake by increasing pressure on water resources within the lake’s watershed, potentially reducing water that would otherwise help sustain the lake. Preliminary research suggests that the heat dome created by this project could raise daytime temperatures by 2–5°F and nighttime temperatures by 8–12°F, accelerating the evaporation rates of Great Salt Lake. 

Project representatives claim that the Stratos Project would have relatively low water consumption and could potentially be a “net positive” for the Great Salt Lake by using less water than the amount of water rights secured for the area. However, several scientists and water experts have questioned whether those claims are realistic at the scale being proposed, noting that the proposed water use figures would be dramatically more efficient than some of the most water-efficient natural gas facilities currently operating in the United States.

Researchers also note that even closed-loop systems, like Stratos plans to use, still lose water through evaporation, and heated water released back into the environment can further increase evaporative loss.

Great Salt Lake is already expected to hit its lowest recorded elevation this year. To reverse course and prevent long-term consequences for the region, Utah needs to use less water, not more—and we can’t afford to accelerate evaporation rates.

The Stratos Project could significantly affect native species in Box Elder County by altering habitat conditions and stressing wildlife populations. There are several key concerns:

• The data center is expected to generate 7-8 gigawatts of waste heat. This could raise local temperatures 2–5°F by day and 8–12°F by night. Scientists warn this could disrupt ecological balance, and stress plants, insects, and animals that are adapted to the region’s current climate.
• Box Elder County’s proximity to Great Salt Lake means it is in the middle of one of North America’s most  critical migratory bird corridors. The project could disrupt bird migration patterns, native wildlife, bees, and livestock populations.

A preliminary analysis of the proposed Box Elder data center by Utah State University Physics Professor Rob Davies, found that the combined thermal output of the facility and its associated natural gas power plant could raise daytime temperatures by 2°F–5°F and nighttime temperatures by 8℉- 12℉ throughout Hansel Valley. 

Because the power plant is 55% efficient, Davies estimates the project would generate a total thermal load of approximately 16 gigawatts (GW)—9 GW to power the data center and an additional 7-8 GW of waste heat. To put that scale into perspective, this is the energy footprint of 40,000 Walmart Supercenters or 23 atomic bombs worth of energy dumped into the local environment every single day. According to analysis highlighted by the Salt Lake Tribune, the heat generated by the facility could create a substantial local heat island effect that may represent the difference between Utah’s current semi-arid climate and the Sahara Desert. 

Stratos developers have said the facility will be powered by on-site natural gas power plants from the nearby Ruby Pipeline, a 680-mile interstate gas pipeline that runs through northern Utah. This means that the project would largely generate its own electricity rather than drawing power from Utah’s existing electrical grid. But, even if the entire facility is powered on-site, researchers have raised concern that the scale of the project could still produce emissions comparable to those of those of entire small countries. Additionally, unless off-grid power comes from renewable energy, renewable natural gas, or paired with carbon capture, it has a significantly higher environmental impact than a grid-powered facility.

Researchers analyzing the project say that powering the project could involve technologies such as combined-cycle combustion turbines (CCCT) or reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE), both of which are commonly used for large scale industrial power generation.

The project is also expected to rely on massive “dry cooling” infrastructure, using hundreds of acres of industrial-scale fans to continuously cool down heat generated by the facility including  hot radiator pipes. 

Since the project’s initial announcement, Governor Cox has indicated that Phase One of the project may be powered by natural gas, while subsequent phases will be powered by nuclear, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources. While many view this potential transition as  promising, it’s important to ensure that such commitments are codified through contractual and legal commitments.

Construction of the Stratos Project will temporarily increase emissions in the project area:

• Dust Emissions: Activities like demolition and excavation can release PM2.5 and PM10. These fine particles can travel in the air and reduce visibility while causing respirator issues. 
• Combustion Emissions: Equipment and generators used generally rely on fossil fuels, leading to emissions of particulate matter and other harmful substances. Operations like this could release these into the air:
  • Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
  • Carbon Monoxide (CO)
  • Particulate Matter (PM)
  • Greenhouse gases (CO2)

These pollutants can contribute to smog formation and degrade local air quality.

• Vehicle Emissions: Operation of trucks, machinery, and other vehicles used to transport will release pollutants like nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). 
• Improper Waste Management: Acts like burning construction waste like wood and plastic, can release toxic fumes and harmful pollutants into the air, degrading the air quality.

The construction of the project is expected to cause a short-term decrease in the air quality due to dust, combustion, vehicle emissions, and improper waste management. Post production air quality from the data center is something we can only estimate at the moment.

The DEQ has provided assurances that the project will adhere to Clean Air Act standards. However, this does not mean that the project will not still result in a significant increase in air pollution into our airshed.

The Stratos Project claims that it will create approximately 2,000 permanent jobs and 10,000 construction jobs, but industry experts say those numbers are overstated. A more accurate estimate is 4,000 new construction jobs over 10-15 years. Data centers often create a surge of temporary construction jobs, bring in transient workers, and relatively few long-term jobs will remain once facilities are operational.

During the Box Elder County Special Commission Meeting held on April 27th, 2026, when asked by Box Elder County Commissioners what was in the agreement to hold the project accountable if they failed to deliver on the promised jobs, MIDA failed to provide a clear answer, and the promised jobs are not explicitly stated in the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement.

The proposed Stratos Project will require around 9 gigawatts of electricity, which is more than double what the entire state of Utah uses. 

Developers say that the facility would generate all of the power it needs on site using natural gas from the nearby Ruby Pipeline, and won’t increase electricity prices. But electricity rates depend on fuel costs, infrastructure, and overall regional demand—which data centers generally make worse by consuming so much. 

The Stratos Project’s enormous energy demand could still affect regional energy markets and natural gas prices, especially during periods of high demand, like heat waves and cold snaps. 

Whether utility costs increase for Utahns depends on several unresolved questions, including:

• Who pays for new infrastructure
• Whether developers cover all long-term utility and fuel costs
• How utilities structure rates and contracts
• Whether the project is fully self-powered
• Whether state regulators require enforceable protections for ratepayers