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Last Update: 09/22/2026 at 11:34 PM EST
Stratos Tests Utah’s Water Limits
Coverage from Deseret News, Deseret, and others
The proposed Stratos hyperscale data center in Box Elder County, Utah, has become a major dispute over water rights, power demand, cooling technology, environmental effects, and the speed of project approvals.
Developers describe closed-loop or low-water systems, jobs, county revenue, and phased construction, while residents and researchers question the project’s large electricity and water requirements and possible effects on groundwater, the Great Salt Lake, local temperatures, and electricity costs. County and state actions, including approval changes, a referendum, litigation, and tighter review requirements, have delayed or constrained the project while key engineering and water-use details remain unresolved.
Looking Back
124 Day Timeline
May 6
May 27
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Sep 6
History
09/08/2026
The current version largely confirms the previously reported opposition, legal challenges, and project delays, while adding specific developer claims about roughly 2,000 permanent jobs, county payments, and agricultural water rights. It also identifies Kevin O’Leary and Gov. Spencer Cox more prominently as participants in the dispute and review process.
09/04/2026
The story has broadened from a Utah-specific dispute into a regional pattern of hyperscale data-center proposals, with Prometheus near Casper adding a new project and jurisdiction. Utah’s controversy remains largely unresolved, while disclosure and oversight concerns now apply across multiple Western proposals.
All Articles58 articles
Important
Box Elder County residents in Utah challenged the proposed Stratos data center, citing water demand, thermal impacts, and electricity cost concerns amid a planned 9-gigawatt buildout.
6/22/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Box Elder County approved the Stratos data center and energy campus on May 4, 2026, as Utah’s water-disclosure and water-rights rules become the main regulatory battleground.
5/30/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Utah opposition to Kevin O'Leary's Stratos data center intensified after allegations of foreign ties, alongside commission approval, water-rights protests, and a planned voter referendum.
5/23/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Utah Clean Energy warned at a Box Elder County public hearing that the proposed Stratos data center may require 9 GW of on-site natural gas power, increasing air and water impacts.
5/7/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Box Elder County approved the phased Stratos Project in Hansel Valley, Utah, where opponents raised water and electricity-cost concerns and referendum paperwork followed.
5/13/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Box Elder County approved the MIDA-backed Stratos data center in rural Utah, but the project must still secure DEQ and DNR approvals and water rights filings before construction.
5/9/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Box Elder County Commission approved the Stratos Project with Utah MIDA on May 4, pending Utah DEQ air-permit reviews and Utah water-rights approvals.
5/9/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Kevin O'Leary and Utah officials discussed a Box Elder County data center water rights withdrawal amid Great Salt Lake water use concerns.
5/11/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
O'Leary Digital's proposed Stratos data center in Box Elder County, Utah, faces resident opposition tied to potential groundwater impacts on the Great Salt Lake.
7/17/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Murray Hollow L.C. filed a permanent change of water for the Stratos Project data center in Box Elder County, Utah, and protests began May 18 over cooling water impacts and water quantity details.
5/19/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Stratos’s Utah west desert data center faces referendum and lawsuit action after disputes over water rights, cooling claims, and proposed gas power impacts.
7/27/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Utah's Military Installation Development Authority approved the Stratos hyperscale data center in May near Hansel Valley, prompting local opposition and legal challenges over power, water, and environmental impacts.
9/1/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Kevin O'Leary-backed Stratos is questioned in Box Elder County, Utah, as residents seek details on noise, water, emissions, and tax deal terms.
7/7/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Kevin O'Leary promotes the Stratos Project in Box Elder County, Utah, where county approval and fast-tracked incentives face opposition over thermal load and water planning.
5/25/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
About 20 protesters in St. George on Thursday opposed the Stratos AI and hyperscale data center proposal in Box Elder County, citing water use, power impacts, and approval transparency.
5/23/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County commissioners approved the Stratos Project data-center campus in Hansel Valley, while residents and state-linked analyses raised concerns over water sourcing, emissions, and 9GW power demand.
5/20/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Prometheus Hyperscale outlined a 1.2 gigawatt data center campus east of Evanston, Wyoming, proposing PG25 closed-loop cooling and on-site gas power amid Uinta County resident questions.
5/26/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County commissioners approved the Stratos data center and 9-gigawatt natural-gas complex in Utah despite thousands of protests over irrigation-water transfer.
5/10/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Stratos data center plans in Box Elder County, Utah, drew backlash after water-use estimates based on natural-gas power and cooling design increased local concerns.
6/7/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Mineral Resources International filed water quality and quantity protests against the Stratos Data Center in Hansel Valley, Utah, citing Great Salt Lake water-rights limits starting in 2027.
5/22/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Friends of Great Salt Lake and O'Leary Digital faced rapid public protest after a second Utah Division of Water Rights filing for the Stratos data center opened April 28 for notice.
5/20/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Natrona County commissioners in Wyoming deferred action on Prometheus Hyperscale's proposed industrial-park zoning designation for a 1.5-gigawatt data center campus near Casper.
9/2/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Prometheus asked Natrona County commissioners in Casper, Wyoming, on Tuesday to consider industrial park zoning for a proposed 1.5-gigawatt hyperscale data center campus.
9/2/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Robert Davies and Ben Abbott analyze the Stratos Project in Hansel Valley, Box Elder County, Utah, citing waste heat estimates that could raise temperatures and worsen ecological and dust impacts.
5/11/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
Interesting
Sara Pequeño discusses a Box Elder County, Utah vote to proceed with a 40,000-acre data center despite opposition over noise, air pollution, water use, and electricity demand.
5/17/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Reno and Nevada election coverage spotlights water and electric capacity concerns as data-center development accelerates, with Governor Joe Lombardo supporting expansion.
5/17/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County commissioners approved a controversial Hansel Valley, Utah data center as critics cited heat, water stress, emissions, and insufficient public deliberation.
5/9/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County, Utah commissioners approved a proposed large data center development after public concerns over cooling water use and electricity impacts during a contentious meeting.
5/8/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Utah lawmakers reviewed data center permitting, environmental impacts, incentives, and opposition surrounding the paused Stratos project Wednesday at the Utah Capitol.
8/20/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Hundreds of residents opposed a Utah Division of Air Quality wastewater permit near the Great Salt Lake, citing arsenic and salinity risks and drought-driven water concerns tied to a data-center-linked industrial project.
7/28/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Utah officials scaled back the Stratos data center after local protests over drought-driven water concerns, amid active federal proposals on data center energy and environmental oversight.
6/11/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
A Morning Consult poll for the Deseret News-Hinckley Institute (May 15-18) shows Utah voters oppose Kevin O'Leary-backed Stratos Project data-center plans in Box Elder County.
5/21/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Utah voters, surveyed May 15-18 by Morning Consult for the Deseret News-Hinckley Institute, oppose the Stratos Project proposed in Box Elder County.
5/21/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Residents opposed proposed data center projects at county meetings in the US, with Utah leadership urging downsizing of a Salt Lake City region campus backed by Kevin O'Leary.
6/4/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County data-center opponents in Utah added earthquake and aftershock concerns after the Military Installation Development Authority approved the Stratos Data Center.
5/16/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Box Elder County Commissioners approved the Stratos Data Center in Utah’s Great Salt Lake basin while community protests challenged water-rights and environmental-review assumptions.
5/6/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Utah scientists warn that the proposed Stratos hyperscale data center near the Great Salt Lake could generate heat and increase water demand, amid ongoing Box Elder County deliberations.
5/7/2026 • Water & Cooling • General
In Box Elder County, Utah, data-center opponents added seismic concerns tied to the 1934 earthquake after Military Installation Development Authority statements on geotechnical study timing.
5/16/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Hundreds of Utah protesters and Box Elder County referendum organizers escalated opposition to a proposed Box Elder County data center over water and power concerns.
5/15/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Fulcrum Campaigns and Majorities Matter PAC ran ads in Utah to unseat Box Elder County commissioners after May special zoning approval for the Stratos data center.
6/6/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
MIDA fast-tracked approval of Utah's Stratos Project near the Great Salt Lake Basin in early May, then officials and scientists pressed for acreage reductions and tighter environmental review.
6/5/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County Utah leaders reviewed Gov. Spencer Coxs data-center executive order after backlash over the Stratos Project and referendum denials by County Attorney Stephen Hadfield.
6/1/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
More than 600 people rallied at the Utah Capitol on Saturday against the May 4-approved Stratos data center proposal in Box Elder County, citing water and environmental impacts.
5/23/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Wyoming residents in Natrona and Converse counties pressed Prometheus Hyperscale for more detail on a proposed hyperscale data center and power plant before permitting.
5/16/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County data center opponents rallied at the Utah State Capitol on Thursday, pressing Governor Spencer Cox and regulators to slow approvals amid water and 9-gigawatt power concerns.
5/14/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County residents filed referendum applications in Utah against the planned Stratos-MIDA data center while Kevin O'Leary disputed water-impact claims and Utah Governor Spencer Cox cited further review.
5/11/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Governor Spencer Cox and Utah HB60 affect protests against O'Leary Digital water-right transfers for Project Stratos in Box Elder County.
5/9/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Residents filed protests in Box Elder County, Utah, against Project Stratos water-rights transfers, but dismissal followed developer withdrawal after HB60 changed state review rules.
5/9/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Blake Moore and Karianne Lisonbee in Utah disputed approval of a proposed Box Elder County data center, where local opposition focused on water impacts, transparency, and likely natural-gas power.
5/8/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Kevin O'Leary scaled back the Stratos hyperscale data center in Utah's Box Elder County after resident backlash over Great Salt Lake water transfer proposals.
6/5/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Hundreds of Brigham City residents protested in Box Elder County after Stratos Project approval, citing alleged approval-process violations and water rights concerns while a referendum decision awaited officials.
5/27/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Utah residents and researchers questioned proposed data centers' effects on electricity prices, jobs, and property-tax stability during an Aug. 19 state legislative hearing in Utah.
9/6/2026 • Project Finance & Incentives • General
Box Elder County approved the Stratos Project on May 4, 2026, and Utah HB 60 and HB 76 are central to the remaining water and compliance dispute.
5/30/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
BEAR and allied groups protested at the Utah State Capitol on Saturday to oppose the Stratos data center project in Box Elder County and prepare a referendum challenge.
5/23/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County commissioners approved the MIDA-linked Stratos Data Center on May 4 in rural Utah as residents protested environmental impacts and officials reported threats.
5/9/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Box Elder County approved a MIDA-backed Stratos Data Center agreement on May 4, and officials reported threatening voicemails and emails afterward.
5/9/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Additional
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking at an AWS conference on June 30, urged data center supporters to push back against community and voter criticism over water, power, jobs, and impacts, while Utah project plans faced opposition and wildlife constraints.
6/30/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Investor Kevin O'Leary supports the proposed Stratos data center campus in Box Elder County, Utah, as experts cite broader job multipliers and automation-driven permanent staffing limits.
5/11/2026 • Market Demand & Investment • General