Massive AI Data Center Transforms Rural Utah Into National Flashpoint
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” chanted over a thousand voices on May 4, at the County Commission meeting of Box Elder, a rural county of Utah, as the three commissioners collected their things and quickly made their way toward the exit. Police moved toward the crowd as chants continued:
“Who are you protecting?” and “People over Profit!”
The county commissioners had just voted to approve one of the world’s largest data centers. A 40,000-acre complex known as the “Stratos Project” is now moving forward in the rural area. These data facilities, although typically much smaller, are the essential infrastructure powering the AI technology boom.