Nuclear-powered AI data center proposed on state and federal land in central eastern Utah
by Brenna Donnelly ksl tv · KSL.comEstimated read time: 4-5 minutes
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Valar Atomics proposes a nuclear-powered AI data center on Utah state land.
- The project, "Project Beehive," includes 456 reactors and could produce 9.6 gigawatts.
- Concerns raised about environmental impacts and Utah's share of project benefits.
PRICE — Land for what could become a new artificial intelligence data center powered by nuclear energy has been approved for lease in central eastern Utah.
A land lease proposal from Valar Atomics was approved by the Utah Trust Lands Administration at a meeting Sept. 17, with a board member saying the facility may become an AI data center.
The Bureau of Land Management confirmed to KSL Wednesday that Valar Atomics has submitted an initial application for an industrial campus near Price that could include a small, gas-cooled nuclear reactor, a data center and manufacturing facilities on approximately 9,000 acres of public lands.
"If the BLM determines the application is complete, the process will involve a Notice of Realty Action for the proposed lease, following by detailed analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act and opportunities for public comment consistent with federal regulations and BLM policy," the BLM said in a statement.
BLM Utah External Affairs also wrote: "Data centers are becoming an important part of the infrastructure that supports our nation's technology, security, and economic growth, and public lands can help meet this need when projects are designed responsibly."
In an NPR exclusive report today, the outlet says Valar's "Project Beehive" would include 456 small nuclear reactors, a facility to produce nuclear fuel and facilities for storing nuclear waste. NPR reports that its documents claim the facility could produce 9.6 gigawatts of power, which is significantly higher than Utah's current average energy output.
Valar has requested leases for both federal and state lands. State records confirm Valar Atomic's lease of state trust land in Carbon County. More than 640 acres were unanimously approved by the Trust Lands Administration Board on Sept. 17. Members of the board noted in the meeting that the land's "potential use for energy from this project" was data centers.
Some have already spoken out against the proposal. KSL spoke with Lexi Tuddenham, executive director for Health Environment Alliance of Utah, about the proposal for both federal and state lands.
"What's going to happen if it does go forward, and what are the impacts going to be across the board? Environmental, health, what are the safety measures?" asked Tuddenham. "What sort of planning is going to be done in the eventuality of disasters or major accidents, because there is a non-zero risk of these, and it's particularly significant when it does involve radioactive materials."
Tuddenham also pointed out the potential trade off imbalance if Utah accepts the risks of nuclear power and only gets a small percentage of funds from a multi-billion dollar company.
"We have a right to know as citizens what is going on, not just with our state lands, but also with our federal lands," she said. "Federal lands are there for, in theory, everyone's benefit. And we need to be thinking about who is actually benefiting from developments like this one."
The Trust Lands Administration board took public comment on Sept. 17, including high praise for Valar Atomics. Valar already operates a test microreactor in Emery County called Ward 250. Several of its local employees praised its transparency and forward-thinking energy initiatives, saying nuclear power is the best option for data centers due to its low water consumption (reactors are helium-cooled).
"We are energy producing communities," said Tony Martines, Carbon County commissioner at the Sept. 17 meeting. "To go from the coal oil to gas to solar now to nuclear just fits tremendously into the long-range plans of Carbon County. We have the workforce. We have the space. We have all the infrastructure."
County commissioners also spoke in the public comment section, saying they hope the agreement would benefit the area in many ways.they "treat community engagement as central to what they do." Others praised the potential for nuclear energy, saying "the coal that I love is a dirty science, and there's a better way."
Local county commissioners also spoke in the public comment section, saying they hope the agreement would benefit the area in many ways.
"Valar has gone above and beyond just trying to connect with the community. They have nothing to hide," said Martines. "They've had open houses routinely. They're going to have more coming. So they're just a good neighbor, a good fit."
Valar Atomic representatives attended the meeting as well.
"America stands no chance against our adversaries without energy abundance. And we believe that that should start here in Utah. And we've started that process today," said Cory Gardner, head of commercial development at Valar Atomics during the Sept. 17, meeting.
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.