finance
O'Leary Digital Scales Back Utah Data Center Plan After Local Opposition
O'Leary Digital and West GenCo LLC agreed to reduce the Stratos Project from 40,000 acres to a 1.4-gigawatt initial phase. Utah's governor issued an executive order raising standards for data center approvals, and the state senate president requested a 75 percent cut in project size.
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The companies are developing the campus in Box Elder County, Utah. County commissioners approved a project area in May.
Residents organized petitions, attended planning meetings, and filed a lawsuit after project details became public. They cited concerns over wildlife, water, air quality, and transparency. Spencer J. Cox signed an executive order at the end of May that set a higher bar for data center approvals. Utah Senate President J. O'Leary agreed to the smaller initial phase and other conditions.
O'Leary said the scaled-back plan functions as a test phase. He stated that newer cooling technology reduces environmental impact compared with data centers built 20 years ago. O'Leary also said the project will create jobs and economic growth. He attributed local opposition to a Chinese disinformation campaign but did not provide supporting evidence.
>"I don't tap out. I don't even know what that means. That's never going to happen with me," O'Leary told Business Insider.
