Overview
- County commissioners in Box Elder County approved the Stratos project on Monday, May 4, after hundreds of residents protested and chanted “Shame!” during a special meeting in Tremonton.
- The plan calls for on‑site natural‑gas generation tied to the Ruby Pipeline, avoiding the state grid, with developers touting closed‑loop cooling that they say recycles water.
- Stratos spans roughly 40,000 acres and targets about 3 gigawatts in its first phase by late 2026, with a potential buildout to 9 gigawatts over a decade, and no hyperscale tenant named so far.
- Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, a state entity that can fast‑track projects near defense sites, cut the energy‑use tax to 0.5% and approved rebating most property taxes to land the campus.
- Scientists warn gas‑fired power could raise Utah’s CO2 emissions by about 50%, thousands have filed protests over water rights tied to the Great Salt Lake, and Rep. Blake Moore condemned threats against local officials as rivals press for public hearings and fuller, independent reviews.