Utah, Box Elder County officials mull plan to spur energy production, data center development

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Utah and Box Elder County officials are considering an ambitious plan meant to foment energy production, data center development and more.
• The Stratos Project, spearheaded by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority, is envisioned on 40,000 acres of undeveloped land in Box Elder County.
• Boosters say the initiative could create thousands of jobs.

BRIGHAM CITY — Utah and Box Elder County officials are mulling an ambitious proposal encompassing as much as 40,000 acres of largely rural land that's meant to support energy production, data center operations, manufacturing and more.

County commissioners publicly discussed the proposal, dubbed the Stratos Project, on Wednesday, and debate is to continue Monday. The moving force behind the initiative is the Military Installation Development Authority, a state entity that promotes economic development initiatives intertwined with military initiatives.

"We are working with (the development authority) to better understand their proposal and its potential impacts. Our focus is on making sure any decision is thoughtful, well-informed and in the best interest of Box Elder County residents," the county said in a statement Friday. County officials were to have met to discuss the issue Friday, but the meeting was canceled.

The development authority didn't immediately respond to a query seeking comment, but a draft document outlining the plan says it could create thousands of jobs in energy production, data center operations, manufacturing and construction. "Ultimately, this project positions Utah as a national leader in innovation and energy independence," the document reads.

The document describes the initiative in ambitious and wide-ranging terms but doesn't spell out a timeline for development. In a press conference last November, Gov. Spencer Cox announced preliminary plans for a nuclear power generating facility to the Brigham City area, though the draft document makes no reference to that effort.

"The project area is intended to support the development of state-of-the-art energy generation; hyper-scale data center(s); advanced manufacturing; housing, commercial facilities and other compatible uses; and the corresponding infrastructure and improvements," the development authority document reads.

The planned energy users, the document continues, "are large data centers and advanced manufacturers that will both directly benefit military- and national defense-related missions and the public generally. Both the energy generation and the large energy users will provide significant economic growth to the military, the county and the state."

A Box Elder County resolution discussed Wednesday and focus of additional consideration at Monday's County Commission meeting says the project area includes private land, Utah National Guard property and Hill Air Force Base land in unincorporated portions of the county. A map in the draft Stratos Project document identifies the project area as covering three separate swaths of undeveloped land, one smaller piece abutting I-84 at Hansel Valley Road and two larger pieces to the south and southwest.

Apart from promoting power production and economic development, the resolution states that the Stratos Project would "enhance military mission readiness and national security."

Cox has made energy a priority, underscored by his initiative Operation Gigawatt. That effort is meant to expand energy production through use of a wide-range of sources, including nuclear and geothermal power, and bolster transmission capacity.

Inclusion of nonmilitary land in the project area would require the consent of Box Elder County and the owners of such property. The private property owners have given their consent to the proposal, according to the draft proposal.

The development authority is involved in several other initiatives around the state, including the Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park encompassing some 525 acres in Weber and Davis counties, part of it in Hill Air Force Base. Aerospace and defense companies operate within the Falcon Hill area.

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.

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Tim Vandenack

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.