Stratos AI Data Center Campus

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. April 2026

   Proposed
   MIDA Board approved Stratos Project Area on April 24, 2026; Box Elder County Commission approved interlocal agreement May 4, 2026 Source: Box Elder County, UT

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Stratos AI Data Center Campus in Lucin, Box Elder County, Utah is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Community opposition over fast-tracked MIDA process, CO2 emissions (~34M metric tons/year at full build), light/noise pollution, and Great Salt Lake impacts.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.

Community opposition over fast-tracked MIDA process, CO2 emissions (~34M metric tons/year at full build), light/noise pollution, and Great Salt Lake impacts. Utah Senate President Stuart Adams demanded a developable project area under 10,000 acres; on June 4, 2026, O'Leary wrote that he would remove 19,430 acres around Locomotive Springs and another 620 acres, cutting the project area roughly in half (KUER). Governor Cox ordered 'careful consideration' of environmental impacts.

Source: Utah News Dispatch

Power and water

Ruby Pipeline (680-mile interstate natural gas line) runs through Hansel Valley; 3,000-acre solar array planned; fully off-grid design

Closed-loop system using on-site saline water described as unsuitable for human or agricultural use; developer states no diversion from Great Salt Lake basin

Notes on the record

Hansel Valley and Locomotive Valley, western Box Elder County near Lucin, UT. The project area was about 40,000 acres as approved in spring 2026 (Utah News Dispatch); on June 4, 2026, O'Leary wrote that the company would remove 19,430 acres in and around the Locomotive Springs area and another 620 acres, cutting the area roughly in half (KUER). As of October 2026, no current total area is recorded. 60 planned data centers on initial 10,000-acre phase. 9GW is full-buildout figure; Phase 1 ~3GW. Total cost projected $100B+ at full buildout; only $20M invested as of mid-2026. Designed by Gensler. Environmental permitting via Utah DEQ expected to take ~2 years. MIDA oversight provides state-level approval authority. Coordinates are approximate for western Box Elder County; exact site boundaries unpublished. Subsidies checked at the municipal tier (2026-09-05): no site-level subsidy found. Box Elder County's own Stratos Project Fact Sheet states directly: "No County funds are required to build the project. All funds will come from the developers and private investors." A May 2026 MIDA interlocal agreement covers land-use and permitting review governance (a development review committee, subdivision/site-plan requirements), not a tax-increment or abatement arrangement, and MIDA's own project-area records, which could confirm or rule out a tax-increment component, were unreachable when checked in September 2026 (mida.utah.gov redirected to an unrelated login page). Utah's EDTIF programme excludes data centres and the UCA 59-12-104 exemption is self-executing.

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