Stratos Project
Box Elder County, UT[1][13]Developer: O'Leary Digital[1][13]
Also known as Stratos data center, Wonder Valley Utah, Stratos Project Area
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
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A proposed hyperscale data center and on-site power generation campus in unincorporated Box Elder County, Utah, led by Kevin O'Leary's O'Leary Digital with Utah's Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). May 2026 reporting described up to 9 GW of generation on about 40,000 acres; O'Leary said in June 2026 he would scale the project back, and later reporting cited roughly 20,000 acres. The county commission approved MIDA-related resolutions in May 2026, the county attorney rejected referendum petitions, and lawsuits by residents followed.
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Planned capacity | 9 GW [2] Up to 9 GW of generation reported in May 2026 (another report gave 7.5-9 GW total site capacity); developer said in June 2026 it would scale the project back |
|---|---|
| IT load | 1.1 GW [3] Ten 100 MW data center buildings plus one additional 100 MW facility, per May 2026 renderings/plans |
| Site size | 40,000 acres [3] Across three sites per May 2026 reporting; a June 17, 2026 report described approximately 20,000 acres after the developer announced reductions |
| Buildings | 60 [12] shown in a rendering published by Dezeen (Gensler assisting with design): 10 buildings at each of six sites in Hansel Valley Source excerpt“It depicts 60 data center buildings, 10 clustered at each of six sites, and a 3,000-acre solar array, all located in the Hansel Valley on the most southeasterly of the three Box Elder County sites where the initiative is envisioned.” |
| Permanent jobs (promised) | 2,000 [3] Projected job creation as reported; permanent vs. other not specified |
How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.
Power
| Power supply | Self-contained natural gas generation isolated from Utah's grid, with battery storage and a 3,000-acre, 500 MW solar array planned [3] |
|---|---|
| Air permit | No Notice of Intent submitted to Utah DEQ as of May 4, 2026; an Approval Order is required before construction [10]Source excerpt“No Notice of Intent (NOI) has been submitted to date” |
Water
| Water source | Privately owned water rights; pending application for 11 acre-feet per year for power generation after an earlier 1,900 acre-foot application was withdrawn following public objection [3] |
|---|---|
| Cooling | closed-loop [2] |
Money & incentives
| Tax incentives | Project in a MIDA project area; MIDA imposes a Municipal Energy Sales and Use Tax of at least 0.5% on data center campuses [9]Source excerpt“A Municipal Energy Sales and Use Tax ("MET") of at least 0.5% on Data Center Campuses with such adjustments as are necessary, as provided in Section 6(c).” |
|---|---|
| Payments / community benefits | MIDA-County Agreement 26-15: master developer to make three annual upfront payments of $5.4 million to the county, starting with the first building permit; MIDA to adjust its municipal energy tax so the county receives at least $10,000 per MW of installed generation capacity annually [9]Source excerpt“The Master Developer shall make three annual Upfront Payments of $5,400,000.00 per year as described in this Section.” |
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Water and power
Water
Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.
Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →
Lawsuits
| Box Elder Accountability Referendum (BEAR) v. Box Elder County | pending [11] Referendum sponsors seek to overturn the county attorney's rejection of their referendum applications on the Stratos resolutions. Utah First District Court · filed Jun 3, 2026 Source excerpt“Attorneys for the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.) group filed that appeal on June 3 in the Utah First District Court here seeking to overturn the county's denial of their applications.” |
|---|
Timeline
MIDA announces plans for the Stratos Project [4]
Application filed with the Utah Division of Water Rights to transfer an 11 acre-foot Hansel Valley water right for the project [12]
Box Elder County Commission unanimously approves two resolutions (MIDA interlocal agreement and consent to adding private land to project area) amid protests by roughly 1,100 attendees [2]
County Attorney Stephen R. Hadfield rejects referendum applications, calling the resolutions administrative rather than legislative [5]
Referendum group BEAR sues in 1st District Court over referendum rejection; separate civil-rights suit filed by residents and Alliance for a Better Utah [7]
O'Leary tells Senate President J. Stuart Adams by letter he will scale back the project, saying it won't be 'the largest data center in the world' [6]
County adopts a 180-day pause on new data centers and the power plants built to serve them; Stratos is exempt because it falls under MIDA [7]
O'Leary Digital and Box Elder County ask the First District Court to dismiss the June 3 referendum lawsuit [13]
Joshua Kanter of Alliance for a Better Utah and Gabrielle Finlayson of Elevate Strategies, who opposed the project, sue Kevin O’Leary and Fox News for defamation in federal court in Salt Lake City [14]
O'Leary says design is 'full steam ahead' and a water permit filing is expected by end of August; MIDA on 'pause' awaiting permit requests [8]
O’Leary and Fox News ask the U.S. District Court in Utah to dismiss the defamation suit [15]
Issues raised
- Residents raised concerns about water use, air quality and the speed of the approval process [4]
- Opponents say residents were denied a public vote; lawsuits challenge the referendum rejection and allege civil-rights violations [5][7]
- A Stewardship Utah poll reported more than 70% of respondents oppose the data center [7]
- O'Leary claimed most protesters were paid out-of-state participants; referendum sponsor Brenna Williams disputed this [4]
Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.
Sources
- Stratos Project | Box Elder County, UTBox Elder County · Jun 10, 2026 · government
- Hundreds cry out as Box Elder commissioners wave in massive data centerUtah News Dispatch · May 4, 2026 · news
- Renderings show vision for massive data center proposed in Utah, but permits could take yearsUtah News Dispatch · May 19, 2026 · news
- Box Elder residents organize against Stratos data centerKPCW · May 11, 2026 · news
- Box Elder County residents won't get to vote on data center referendum, county attorney saysUtah News Dispatch · May 28, 2026 · news
- Kevin O'Leary to scale back Utah project — says it won't be 'the largest data center in the world'The Salt Lake Tribune · Jun 4, 2026 · news
- Box Elder County passes moratorium on future data centersUtah Public Radio · Jun 17, 2026 · news
- Designing the Box Elder County data center is 'full steam ahead,' Kevin O'Leary says, while MIDA is on 'pause'The Salt Lake Tribune · Jul 29, 2026 · news
- Box Elder County MIDA Stratos Agreement 26-15Box Elder County · May 4, 2026 · government
- DEQ Letter to Box Elder County CommissionUtah Department of Environmental Quality · May 4, 2026 · government
- Stratos Project opponents file promised referendum appeal with Utah First District CourtCache Valley Daily · Jun 4, 2026 · news
- New water rights application filed for data center plans; details of proposed facility emergeKSL.com · May 18, 2026 · news
- O'Leary Digital, Box Elder County press court to dismiss data center foes' lawsuitDeseret News · Aug 5, 2026 · news
- Utahns sue O'Leary, Fox News over 'smear campaign'Utah News Dispatch · Jul 15, 2026 · news
- O'Leary says he didn't defame opponents of his plan for a large Utah data centerUtah News Dispatch · Sep 24, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Sep 24, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). Stratos Project. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/stratos-box-elder-county-ut |
|---|---|
| MLA | “Stratos Project.” Data Center Census, Sep 24, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/stratos-box-elder-county-ut. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/stratos-box-elder-county-ut |
Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.