Hundreds of Utahns rally against proposed Box Elder data center

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Hundreds rallied at Utah's Capitol against the proposed Box Elder data center.
• Protesters raised environmental concerns and criticized politicians for fast-tracking the development.
• Data center proponent Kevin O'Leary dismissed critics as outsiders linked to foreign influences.

SALT LAKE CITY — About 500 people rallied at the Utah Capitol on Saturday afternoon, calling for an end to the proposed Stratos Project data center development in Box Elder County.

The Stratos development is projected to cover around 40,000 acres, but developers have explained the campus at full build-out will occupy approximately 10,000 to 13,000 acres, and of that, roughly 7,500 acres will be preserved as open space. Over the long haul, the plans call for a data center intended primarily for military needs and a power-generating network to serve it, capable of generating 7.5-9 gigawatts of power when completed.

The project has prompted outcry from many across Utah since it was first announced.

Hundreds demonstrated in Tremonton on May 4 when the Box Elder County Commission gave the green light to the controversial data center proposal put forward by Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary, who touts the importance of the facility to national security. Hundreds more gathered on May 14 at the Capitol.

Critics of the project cite concerns that the development was rushed through proposals, and that it could tax northern Utah's limited water supplies, reduce the flow of water into the Great Salt Lake, and raise the temperature in the area around the operation. A recent Deseret News-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll revealed a majority of Utah voters are opposed to the project.

Saturday's rally will include speeches from local advocate groups, state leaders and a climate scientist from Utah State University. Organizers said the protest aims to shed light on the lack of independent environmental studies and the alleged massive tax breaks for the developers.

The outpouring of opposition has prompted skepticism from O'Leary, the main force behind the controversial project, who has characterized the critics as paid "professional protestors" being bused in from other states and suggested local advocates are linked to the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

Paul Palandjian, CEO of O'Leary Digital, pushed back on that slightly, saying they don't believe anyone is acting as a foreign agent or on behalf of a foreign government, but instead the "Utah progressive advocacy network" is being funded by "a structure currently under active federal scrutiny."

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

Related topics

EnvironmentPoliticsUtahSalt Lake County

Cassidy Wixom

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Cassidy Wixom is an award-winning reporter for KSL. She covers Utah County communities, arts and entertainment, and breaking news. Cassidy graduated from BYU before joining KSL in 2022.