Stratos is set to generate and consume double the amount of energy as the entire state of Utah. It will take a decade to construct. Proponents claim that it will use a closed-loop cooling system to reuse water that will be dispensed back into Utah's Great Salt Lake. A natural gas plant will generate 9 gigawatts of electricity. 

The data center, proposed by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority, will primarily be used for artificial intelligence operations for the energy and data storage needs for "defense operations."

The Stratus project was approved by the county commissioners (Boyd Bringham, Tyler Vincent and Lee Perry) before an environmental impact study was completed. Commissioner Perry says that his life has been threatened. Hundreds of local residents are protesting. Concerns include high electricity consumption and bills, high water consumption and shortages, air pollution, water pollution and noise. 38% of Americans live within 5 miles of at least one data center.

From The Cool Down:

A massive "hyperscale" data center in Utah has been approved despite protests from residents. 

As The Salt Lake Tribune reported, Box Elder County's three-member commission unanimously approved Stratos, a proposed 40,000-acre development in Hansel Valley. 

That's roughly 2.5 times the size of Manhattan. The data campus is backed by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority and billionaire investor Kevin O'Leary.

The approval marks a significant step for one of the most hotly debated tech developments, and it comes at a time when communities across Utah, and the country at large, are already worried about water scarcity and pollution. 

Public interest in the project vote was so high that officials relocated the meeting to the county fairgrounds in Tremonton. There, some 400 protesters booed officials and held signs that read, "No data center," "You can't drink data," "Don't sell us out," and "Save our water."

These hundreds of residents are concerned about how the proposed data campus could put water supplies, air quality, and the future of the Great Salt Lake at greater risk.