Iron County approves 640-acre Antelope Data Center
The Iron County Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the 640-acre Antelope Data Center campus, located west of Cedar City. This approval comes despite public concerns about water scarcity and after the county commission recently enacted a 180-day moratorium on new data center applications. The facility is planned to include five large buildings and an on-site natural gas power plant.
The Iron County Planning Commission recently voted to approve a conditional use permit for the controversial Antelope Data Center campus, a 640-acre project planned for a rural area west of Cedar City, Utah. The approval was made despite ongoing public concerns regarding the project's impact, particularly concerning water usage in a drought-stricken region.
Just prior to this approval, the Iron County Commission had enacted a 180-day moratorium on new data center applications. The Antelope campus is slated to feature five buildings, each over a million square feet, and will include an on-site natural gas power plant. While the Antelope Data Center's application proceeded, another proposed project, the Red Butte Data Center, remains on hold. Proponents of the Antelope project believe that its benefits, which include job creation and economic development, outweigh the concerns raised by the public.