An embattled data center campus project in Utah could emit “dangerous quantities” of air pollution linked to premature deaths, illness like asthma and heart attacks, and health-related economic damage, a new report from the firm EmPower Analytics Group says.
The vision for the Stratos Project, a massive data center planned for Box Elder County, has gotten smaller since its original concept, going from a 40,000-acre plan to 20,000 acres. Still, its full buildout would include the production of about 9 gigawatts of power, more than double what the whole state consumes.
If the plan to use mostly natural gas to power it goes through, the data center campus could emit up to 3,140 tons of fine particulate matter, which would impact not only Utahns, but also residents in Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. It could even reach Illinois, according to the report commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit.
“If that demand were met entirely by gas, our highest estimates reach 45 additional premature deaths and $690 million in health damages each year, with effects extending far beyond Utah,” Michael Cork, CEO of EmPower Analytics Group said in a news release. That’s assuming a 9 gigawatt buildout operating at 90% of capacity.
The project has been explicitly tied to the Ruby natural gas pipeline, and according to presentations from former Military Installation Development Authority officers leading the project, the power plant envisioned for the site was meant to be solely fueled by natural gas.
But, after facing explosive scrutiny over the data center project, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the developers, backed by “Shark Tank” celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary, have committed to pursue other energy resources, including renewables, energy storage and nuclear power generation in addition to natural gas.
A spokesperson for the Stratos Project developers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
The first phase of the project is not to exceed 1.5 gigawatts of energy generation, Cox said in May. Future permits “must be contingent on meeting clear metrics and expectations during this initial phase,” the governor said. But, there haven’t been any specific commitments on the energy generation technology for the center.
Read the full report at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
