USU professor warns Box Elder Co. data center could release 'as much heat as 23 atomic bombs' per day

Dr. Rob Davies, a physics professor at Utah State University, has issued a stark warning regarding the environmental impact of a proposed data center in Box Elder County, Utah. His analysis, shared by the nonprofit Grow the Flow, asserts that the facility's thermal load would be nearly double the developer's claims, generating an additional 7-8 gigawatts of waste heat beyond its 9-gigawatt power requirement. Davies likened this heat release to the energy output of "23 atomic bombs per day," equivalent to 40,000 Walmart supercenters. According to Davies, this extreme thermal load, concentrated in a confined desert basin already facing a watershed crisis, would impose substantial drying on the ecosystem. He further claims the facility could raise daytime temperatures in the Hansel Valley, where it is slated for construction, by 5° Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures by up to 12° Fahrenheit, leading to increased evaporation and drying across the basin. Kevin O'Leary, a leader of the project and star of "Shark Tank," dismissed environmental concerns, stating his background in environmental studies and asserting the project's ability to utilize alternative power sources like wind, solar, and battery technology. However, current public plans indicate a reliance on natural gas from the Ruby Pipeline. In a recent development, Bar H Ranch unexpectedly withdrew its water rights application for the project but stated its intent to resubmit the application later. This comes as state agencies have commenced scrutiny of the Box Elder County data center proposal.