The Stratos Data Center water permit application has been filed: What does it tell us?
Kevin O'Leary's team has submitted a water permit application for the proposed Stratos Project Data Center in Millard County. The project would include 11 data center clusters and a 7.5-gigawatt natural gas generation facility, but environmental scientist Ben Abbott questions whether the project's claimed low water use is realistic.
The Utah Division of Water Rights has received a water permit application for the proposed Stratos Project Data Center near Delta in Millard County. The nearly 200-page application describes 11 clusters of data center buildings, a 7.5-gigawatt power-generation facility consisting of 15 natural-gas plants, and approximately 4,800 jobs.
The project team claims the facility would use less water than historical agricultural activity and could allow more water to reach the Great Salt Lake. Ben Abbott, an environmental scientist and executive director of Grow the Flow, disputes those claims, arguing that the application does not adequately explain how the project could produce that much power with so little water. The permit will undergo the standard state process, including a two-week public notice period and a 20-day protest period.