Box Elder County commissioners unanimously approved two resolutions in support of a proposed 4-acre data center campus at an unincorporated site, amid boos and screams from hundreds of community members. The meeting, which drew approximately 1,100 people to the fairgrounds fine arts building following an outdoor rally, saw commissioners move their final decision to a small room away from the public as the crowd became rowdy.
Some audience members shouted phrases such as people over profit and called the commissioners cowards. Commissioner Boyd Bingham expressed irritation with the interruptions during the meeting.
The approved resolutions are required under state law to allow the Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, to move forward with the Stratos project. Because the data center is intended for private land without existing zoning, MIDA requires county approval to proceed with specific planning and development processes.
Commissioner Lee Perry stated after the meeting that the vote marks the beginning of a process rather than its end, noting that the project will happen in phases over many years and remain subject to regulatory review, permitting, and oversight. The commissioners noted that developers must obtain an air quality permit and undergo an engineering review, a process that typically lasts 150 to 200 days.
Unlike standard industrial developments, this project requires municipal approval before a full environmental assessment regarding impacts on air, water, and wildlife is drafted. Developers stated the study will be prepared later, though a timeline has not been established.
The data center campus, sponsored by investor Kevin O’Leary, is projected to cost over $1 billion. The project includes a natural gas plant designed to supply 9 gigawatts of energy to achieve self-sufficiency, which developers say is more than twice the annual consumption of the state and will be isolated from the Utah grid. To cool equipment, developers plan to use a closed-loop system utilizing privately owned water rights that are unsuitable for irrigation or drinking.
James Evans, a retired geosciences professor from Logan, joined the rally against the project. Evans remarked on the scale of the multibillion-dollar project and expressed concern regarding the speed of the decision-making process, though he also noted the pressure faced by the commissioners.
Following the approval, Casey Hill, a spokesperson for O’Leary Digital, said developers will begin a capital-raising effort and that the first phase of the project could start within the next few months. Developers have committed to holding community town halls at different stages of the state environmental permitting process.
The resolutions include established guardrails for the project, such as noise standards, dark-sky protections, public safety assurances, and county representation on a project board.
