A sprawling, 40,000-acre data center planned for northern Utah has stirred up controversy across the state over the past month, partly because of the pollution it’s expected to contribute to a region that already struggles with smog.

Officials with the quasi-governmental Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, which approved the project and created tax incentives to spur its development, have become de facto cheerleaders for the data center campus, called the Stratos Project. They say Kevin O’Leary, the Canadian TV personality and the main backer of Stratos, specifically selected a remote valley north of the Great Salt Lake because a gas pipeline runs through it.

The plant that will generate electricity for the data complex would be powered “100 percent off the Ruby Pipeline,” a MIDA official said in April. 

But after weeks of protests, reams of comments against the project, and disgruntled Utahns digging into state leaders’ finances and family businesses, the state’s Republican governor has now asserted the project will “never” be solely powered by natural gas.

“That’s never going to happen,” Governor Spencer Cox told The Salt Lake Tribune last week. “The very first phase will be natural gas, but the other phases should not be. They should be nuclear, and they should be geothermal, and solar and other technology.”

The proposed Stratos Project is light on details so far. O’Leary has said that at full build, it will be one of the biggest data centers in the world, as large as Washington, D.C. Scientists, environmental advocates and some residents have raised alarms about the impact that the project — and the possibility of a massive natural gas plant to power it — could have on air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and water supplies near the shrinking Great Salt Lake.

According to some estimates, a 9-gigawatt power plant entirely powered by natural gas could raise Utah’s carbon emissions by 64 percent. Although it’s still unclear how much water the facility would need, the project’s developers have said they’re working to secure 13,000 acre-feet in Hansel Valley and the surrounding area, which is mostly agricultural. That’s enough water to meet the needs of more than 20,000 households in Utah.

Opposition to the proposal has been intense. A water right filed to support the data center and power plant received nearly 4,000 letters of protest this month. Opponents held a rally at Utah’s Capitol last week and delivered a letter to Cox with more than 6,000 signatures urging him to take “binding action” to preserve the Great Salt Lake instead of issuing platitudes over social media.

During a news conference on Wednesday announcing a geothermal partnership with the neighboring states of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, Cox acknowledged problems with the rollout of the Stratos Project in Box Elder County, saying future decisions like it should involve his office and elected representatives.

“There’s no question, the process was not good,” Cox told reporters. “It’s something I’ve worried about for a long time with that entity that made that decision.” 

Cox appeared to be referring to MIDA, a development authority ostensibly meant to fund projects to support the military. Its biggest developments in recent years, however, include a hotel at the Deer Valley luxury ski resort and a swanky ski village. MIDA officials and other Stratos supporters have called the project a matter of national security.

“That was not a decision that was made by me or the Legislature,” Cox said. “In the future, those are decisions that should be made by us, so that we can do these types of things ahead of time to make sure people understand what’s actually happening out there. That did not happen, and it should happen.”

When he made his comments, Cox was hosting the final workshop in his “Energy Superabundance” initiative as chair of the Western Governors Association, part of a broader push that complements his “Operation Gigawatt” goal to more than double Utah’s energy production over the next decade.

Electricity use across the country has held relatively steady for decades, but a surge in demand for artificial intelligence computing and data centers is putting a strain on the electric grid. That’s left Western states scrambling to build new energy supplies.

At the same time, public skepticism toward large data center developments appears to be growing, particularly over concerns involving water use, noise, energy costs, and pollution.

“It feels like the future is here,” Cox said during his opening remarks at the workshop. “It’s coming quicker than people asked for, and there are so many amazing things that can come from that future, and some pretty awful ones as well.”

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Cox has also pushed for faster permitting timelines for large energy and infrastructure projects, arguing that environmental review processes often take too long. “This whole idea of being rushed — I’m so tired of our country taking years to get stuff done,” he said in April. “It’s the dumbest thing ever. We think that taking time makes things better or safer. It absolutely does not.”

Last week, Cox struck a more measured tone as criticism of the project continued to mount. “One of the things people are worried about, and rightfully so, is air quality,” he said in a brief interview as he left the workshop. “That’s a yearlong [permitting] process. … We’re not speeding those up. Those are really important, and we want to make sure that things are done the right way.”

Earlier this month, O’Leary, who was featured on the reality show “Shark Tank,” also seemed to suggest that renewables could help power the Stratos Project. He described other technological advances — such as turbines cooled with air rather than water — before turning to the natural gas power causing a stir.

“We can also put a percentage of the power generation through solar, wind, and batteries, because the battery technology is 10x more efficient than it was just five years ago,” O’Leary posted on X on May 5. “So that’s very helpful, because it makes the cost of energy lower.”

But he stopped short of fully endorsing renewables for his project.

Logan Mitchell, a climate scientist and analyst with Utah Clean Energy, calculated that a 9-gigawatt natural gas power plant will produce around 35 million metric tons of carbon emissions each year. By comparison, the entire state of Utah generates 55 million metric tons annually, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. So the Stratos Project could raise Utah’s emissions by about 64 percent.

“That’s massive,” Mitchell said. But it could be even more, because his estimate didn’t account for “any additional methane leakage” from piping and using the natural gas, he said.

Often called the “Forgotten War,” the conflict in Korea during the 1950s holds a handful of critical battles at risk of being lost to history.

Among them: The Miracle at Gapyeong, during which 240 soldiers from the Utah National Guard defended themselves against surprise attacks from thousands of enemy soldiers — without suffering a single fatality. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Utah battalion stuck together to force the Chinese and North Korean forces to surrender after 300 of their soldiers were killed and another 800 were captured.

On the 75th anniversary of that battle, Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy visited the Korean War memorial in Seoul to honor the soldiers from the Beehive State.

“Because of their sacrifice, the Republic of Korea stands today as a strong, free, and prosperous democracy. This is why gatherings like this matter,” Maloy said in a copy of her speech, which was obtained by the Deseret News. “The Korean conflict is known as the forgotten war. It is important that we remember.”

During the Chinese spring offensive mission on May 26, 1951, more than 200 Utah soldiers were left unprotected on the frontlines near Gapyeong, South Korea. During the night, the battalion faced surprise attacks from Chinese and North Korean soldiers, but managed to fend them off.

The successful battle was lauded as both a military triumph as well as a spiritual miracle for the Utah soldiers who credited their faith, discipline and unity for the victory.

Those members of the 213th Battalion became a symbol of courage and faith within the U.S. Army and Utah National Guard, while veterans later compared their faith to the story of the 2,000 young men known as stripling warriors from the Book of Mormon.

“The Miracle of Gapyeong is more than a military victory remembered in history books,” Maloy said. “It represents courage under impossible circumstances, sacrifice for others, and the enduring bond between allies who stood together in defense of freedom.”

Maloy honored the anniversary on Tuesday local time, coinciding with the Memorial Day holiday back home — which the Utah lawmaker invoked as a way to ensure the Korean War is remembered in the same way as the annual U.S. federal holiday.

“To our veterans: America and Korea owe you a debt that can never be fully repaid,” Maloy said. “Your service protected freedom, defended democracy, and helped build one of the strongest alliances in the world today. The story of the Miracle at Gapyeong reminds us that we’re all part of something bigger than ourselves. That heroism should be remembered, honored, and passed down.”

“As we honor your legacy,” she added, “may we recommit ourselves to the values for which you fought: freedom, sacrifice, service, and peace.”

SALT LAKE CITY — The future of flight appears poised for takeoff in Utah, with influential leaders at the state and federal level voicing their support and detailing their efforts to bring air mobility to the Beehive State during Utah aerospace and defense company 47G’s inaugural Project Alta Summit.

The summit convenes aviation and transit experts at national and global levels with a shared goal of bringing electric and autonomous aircraft into operational use across transportation networks, emergency medical response and critical logistics systems.

Day 1 of the summit wrapped up with a conversation between Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Rep. Mike Kennedy.

Braceras opened by telling Kennedy a story about a trip he took to Singapore in 2019 for the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress. While there, he had the chance not just to sit in, but to fly an aircraft reminiscent of the air taxis showcased by Project ALTA.

“After 2019, I thought, you know, we’re right on the cusp of this becoming something that we all use every day, all day long,” Braceras said. “As I look at where we are right now … I’m a little frustrated with the lack of speed there has been in this idea of the connected autonomous vehicle.”

Braceras pointed out that his main draw toward autonomous air mobility is the impact it could have on crashes and accidents that claim the lives of some 40,000 Americans annually.

He added that he sees Utah as the place where autonomous aircraft will, quite literally, get off the ground — a sentiment shared by Kennedy.

Kennedy noted that at the federal level, policy is quite hard to advance, even saying that the system is “designed to slow things down and destroy things.” He doesn’t think Utah suffers from the same affliction.

“What we have in Utah, though, is an organized, orchestrated willingness to work together, Democrats and Republicans. As a state legislator for 10 years, I saw this regularly. We were willing to work together for the common good of our people,” Kennedy said.

When it comes to air mobility, Kennedy said Utah benefits from an ecosystem where its politicians at the state and federal levels are eager to work with the state’s universities, businesses, military bases and agencies like UDOT to advance the air mobility mission.

The Federal Aviation Administration in March selected Utah as one of eight projects nationwide for the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program, a three-year initiative designed to help safely integrate advanced aircraft into the national airspace.

“We were given one of those spaces, even though we’re small. And the reason why we were given that is because not only are we willing to unite together, but we are a forward-looking people. We care about the future. We see the future,” Kennedy said.

As part of the program and through an initiative called “uFly,” Utah will lead a collaboration between Oregon, Idaho, Arizona and Oklahoma — along with industry partners and research institutions — to test new aviation technology and gather data that will inform the future of electric flight.

Partners with UDOT in the initiative include Beta Technologies, Ampaire, Joby Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Future Flight Global, Alpine Air, Jump Aero and Utah aerospace and defense company 47G.

Braceras emphasized not letting “perfect be our enemy” when it comes to the buildout of air mobility systems.

Kennedy echoed this feeling, saying overregulation could lead to “international adversaries like China” outpacing the U.S. when it comes to developing air mobility.

“That is not going to be good for our national security,” Kennedy warned.

The summit will conclude on Wednesday. A full lineup of speakers and events can be found here.