From semi-arid to Sahara: Scientists say this data center will trigger a climate catastrophe in Utah
05/11/2026 / By Willow Tohi
The proposed Stratos Project in Box Elder County, Utah, would require 9 gigawatts of power—more than double the electricity used by the entire state—generating 16 gigawatts of thermal energy dumped into a single valley.
Physics professor Robert Davies of Utah State University calculates the waste heat could raise local daytime temperatures by 5 degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures by up to 28 degrees.
Ecology professor Ben Abbott of Brigham Young University warns the temperature shift could transform Utah’s semi-arid climate into conditions comparable to the Sahara Desert.
The project, spearheaded by “Shark Tank” celebrity Kevin O’Leary, received county commissioner approval without public comment or environmental impact analysis.
Scientists raise concerns about impacts on the already-collapsing Great Salt Lake ecosystem, including increased evaporation, dust pollution and destruction of wildlife habitat.
On May 7, Utah State University physics professor Robert Davies released calculations revealing that the proposed Stratos hyperscale data center in Box Elder County’s Hansel Valley would generate unprecedented thermal pollution capable of altering local climate patterns. The 40,000-acre project, championed by Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” fame, and approved by county commissioners without public hearing, would consume 9 gigawatts of electricity from a natural gas pipeline crossing Wyoming to California. Davies determined the facility would actually produce 16 gigawatts of thermal energy, with waste heat from both power generation and computing operations concentrated in a single geographic basin at the northern edge of the Great Salt Lake—a watershed already in ecological collapse.
https://www.climate.news/2026-05-11-scientists-say-data-center-will-trigger-climate-catastrophe.html
