Data Center Would Triple Utah's Energy Usage

It would be one of the world’s largest data centers, spanning 40,000 acres (62 sq. miles) and require 9-16GW of energy, doubling Utah’s peak energy usage and tripling it’s existing overall usage. Yet, Box Elder County commissioners approved the facility despite mass objections from Utah residents. It would also consume vast amounts of water further stressing Utah’s already stressed water supply. Utah Governor, Spencer Cox, also appears to support the project.

It’s yet another example of government insanity run amok, all in the name of government revenues, the almighty dollar for celebrity investors (read on), and complete disregard to locals living in the community. The project is 30% larger than Denver airport, the United States’ largest airport. Imagine that near your back yard.

Environmentalists have warned the Stratos project could imperil the Great Salt Lake ecosystem, which is already in bad shape. The lake is shrinking due to water diverted for agriculture and the impact of the climate crisis. We can live without data centers; not without agriculture.

“At a time when the Great Salt Lake is already in crisis, approving a project that will consume water and energy at this scale is irresponsible and dangerous,” said a director of Sierra Club’s Utah chapter. The project’s fact sheet claims it won’t use water from the lake, but also claims it will use water too salty for other purposes.

The project is backed by Kevin O’Leary, of Shark Tank fame. O’Leary has claimed Stratos will deliver thousands of jobs and help the US compete with China in the burgeoning AI industry. He also claims AI companies are needed to defend the country. Uh… reminder! Iran is bombing nearby Middle East data centers. Data centers aren’t defending the country; they’re recording and storing every last bit of data about you, financial and otherwise.

Arguments for job growth will be almost certainly be outweighed by long-term impacts to Utah. The project could raise Utah’s planet-heating pollution as much as 50%. The network of industrial-scale fans needed to cool the data center’s hot pipes could raise daytime temperatures in the Hansel valley by at least 2 degrees Fahrenheit, and night-time temperatures by at least 8F, since Hansel valley sits in a “bowl” that already traps air.

Nearly 4,000 people lodged objections to the project being approved, some containing alleged death threats. A group calling itself the Box Elder Accountability Referendum filed an application for a referendum to reverse the commissioners’ approval. If the group is able to collect 5,422 signatures from registered voters in the county in the next 45 days, the project’s approval will go to a vote in November, which is where something of this magnitude belongs.

“The only thing [O’Leary is] right about is that we don’t want him, an out-of-state billionaire, making decisions for us. I keep trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this has all the hallmarks of an out-of-state mega-project with little to no concern for the local community,” said Ben Abbott, an ecologist at Brigham Young University. Like myself, Mr. Abbott can also follow the money trail.

Source used: Guardian