The Stratos Project: How Utah's Military Installation Development Authority Fast-Tracked a 9-Gigawatt Natural Gas Data Center — and Broke State Law to Do It

In April and May of 2026, the Utah Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) adopted a sweeping project area plan for the Stratos Project — a proposed 9-gigawatt natural gas data center campus in Hansel Valley, Box Elder County. The project is led by Kevin O'Leary ("Mr. Wonderful" from Shark Tank), a Canadian citizen, through his companies O'Leary Digital and West GenCo.

The plan grants the developer an 80% property tax rebate and reduces the state energy tax from 6% to just 0.5% — an extraordinary public subsidy extended to a foreign-backed commercial developer.

The process by which MIDA approved this plan violated multiple provisions of Utah Code § 63H-1, the statute that governs MIDA's operations:

• MIDA adopted a plan including approximately 40,000 acres of private land before Box Elder County had legally consented — a statutory prerequisite.
• MIDA signed a binding development agreement with the developer before the project area plan was legally effective.
• MIDA's mandatory finding that the project promotes public health, safety, and welfare was made without any supporting studies, data, or analysis — at a moment when MIDA's own representative confirmed impact studies had not yet begun.

Every violation documented in this briefing is supported by public records, official government documents, and statements made on video by MIDA officials and the developer.

What Is Being Built

The Stratos Project is a proposed 9-gigawatt natural gas data center complex — one of the largest ever proposed in the United States.

• Location: Hansel Valley and surrounding areas, Box Elder County, Utah
• Footprint: Approximately 40,000 acres of private land plus 1,200 acres of military and state land
• Power source: 100% natural gas, drawn from the Ruby Pipeline
• Water source: Proposed use of brine water from the Locomotive Springs area
• Developer: Kevin O'Leary ("Mr. Wonderful" from Shark Tank), a Canadian citizen, through O'Leary Digital / West GenCo
• On-site developer representative: Austin Pritchett

Independent scientists raised immediate concerns. University of Utah professor Kevin Perry and Utah State University physicist Robert Davies separately estimated the project would increase Utah's total greenhouse gas emissions by over 50%. USU climate scientist Wei Zhang warned the thermal output could alter regional weather patterns. More than 3,900 Utah residents filed formal water rights protests before the water application was withdrawn.

The Government Vehicle: MIDA

MIDA — the Military Installation Development Authority — is a Utah state authority created to promote development in and around military installations. It operates as an independent governmental entity with the power to create project area plans, enter development agreements, and grant significant tax concessions. MIDA is not an elected body. Its Executive Director, Paul Morris, has held the position since 2008 and helped write the enabling legislation.

MIDA — not Box Elder County — is the land use authority within its designated project areas. That makes MIDA's compliance with its own governing statute the central question in evaluating whether the Stratos approval was lawful.

The Public Subsidies

• MIDA energy tax reduced from 6% to 0.5%
• 80% property tax rebate returned to the developer
• Developer prepayment of $16.2 million to Box Elder County over three years pending revenue

These concessions were granted in exchange for future promises. The impact studies that would quantify environmental, infrastructure, and community costs had not been completed — and had not even begun — at the time the plan was approved.

The Stratos Project moved from MIDA due diligence to a signed development agreement in under three months. Every entry below is based on public records — state public meeting notices (PMN), official meeting recordings, and government documents.

Date	Event
Jan–Feb 2026	MIDA begins due diligence on the Stratos Project.
Months before Apr 22	Developer tells Hansel Valley landowners not to discuss the project. Landowner Lanne Adams testified: "They said, 'Don't tell anybody. Don't tell anybody.'"
~Apr 8–14	County Commissioners first learn of the project. Commissioner Perry confirmed: "The commission's only been made aware of it in the last couple of weeks."
Apr 17	County posts the April 22 meeting agenda — 5 days out — listing Stratos items.
Apr 22	County commission meeting. Consent items tabled. County Attorney Anne Hansen states the amended resolution is not consent: "...until you may be ready in the future to consent officially."
Apr 23, 4:40 PM	County posts notice for a special April 24 meeting at 5 PM to consider consent — 25 hours advance notice.
Apr 24, ~9:58 AM	MIDA board adopts the project area plan (Res. 2026-06), standards (Res. 2026-07), and signs the development agreement (Res. 2026-08). No county consent exists at this moment.
Apr 24, 3:45 PM	County cancels its 5 PM consent meeting — after the development agreement has already been signed.
Apr 24, 7:00 PM	The plan's own effectiveness deadline (Resolution 2026-06, Section 6) passes. County has not consented.
Apr 25–26	No county meeting occurs. No public meeting notice exists for these dates. The plan document itself falsely states: "On April 26, 2026, the County approved the County Consent."
Apr 27	County special meeting. MIDA's Hillary Venable presents. Items tabled to May 4.
May 4	County passes Resolutions 26-11 and 26-12 — the actual, legal county consent. Over 1,100 people in attendance.
May 8	Developer withdraws water rights application — plans to refile under HB60, which limits public protest rights.

The violations documented in this briefing did not happen in isolation. They are the predictable result of a process that was deliberately rushed — one in which the developer explicitly acknowledged the need to "jump the line," public officials were kept in the dark until the last possible moment, and legal requirements were bypassed rather than observed.

The Developer Admitted the Rush — On the Record

"There are five groups that will front this that will get this over the line and we have the chance to jump the line and we've been told that needs to happen this month — whether that's true or not — but that's the reason for the rush."

— Austin Pritchett, developer co-founder, April 27, 2026

Landowners Were Told to Stay Quiet

"They said, 'Don't tell anybody. Don't tell anybody. We got some property owners that you just don't tell.'"

— Lanne Adams, Hansel Valley landowner, April 22, 2026

Elected Officials Were Brought in at the Last Hour

"The commission has not been sitting on this for months. This started back in January, February. The commission's only been made aware of it in the last couple of weeks."

— Commissioner Perry, April 22, 2026

"The thing that's so frustrating for us, for commissioners, is all of a sudden, we're brought in the last hour, and we're expected to hurry."

— Commissioner Vincent, April 27, 2026

The Approval Was Pushed Through Before the Studies Were Done

"Right now we've finished the due diligence and we're moving on to all of the impact studies."

— Hillary Venable, MIDA representative, April 27, 2026 — three days after MIDA adopted the plan

The Timeline Was Manufactured, Not Organic

When the county failed to consent on April 24 as planned, the project area plan's own effectiveness deadline passed that evening. No consent meeting occurred on April 25 or April 26. Yet the plan document — finalized at 7:28 AM on April 24 — states as established fact: "On April 26, 2026, the County approved the County Consent."

That date is false. It was written into the document before the consent it describes had occurred, on a day when no meeting took place. The fabrication suggests that those preparing the documents understood the legal requirement for county consent — and chose to record it as accomplished rather than wait for it to actually happen.

MIDA adopted the plan including approximately 40,000 acres of private land on April 24, 2026. Box Elder County's legal consent was not granted until May 4, 2026 — ten days later. The county's April 22 action was explicitly not consent; County Attorney Anne Hansen stated on the record it extended only the county's "intent to engage and look into the full benefits."

Most strikingly, the plan document adopted by MIDA on April 24 contains a fabricated date: "On April 26, 2026, the County approved the County Consent." April 26, 2026: no county meeting occurred. No consent was given. The document was finalized at 7:28 AM on April 24 — two full days before the date it claims consent was received.

MIDA signed the development agreement (Resolution 2026-08) at approximately 9:58 AM on April 24, 2026. MIDA's own plan (Resolution 2026-06, Section 6) states the plan becomes effective when — and only when — Box Elder County provides its consent. MIDA's Executive Director Paul Morris stated at the meeting: "The Stratos Project Area Plan would not become effective until Box Elder County provided its consent."

County consent was not given until May 4, 2026 — ten days after the agreement was signed. The county's planned April 24 consent meeting was cancelled at 3:45 PM — after the development agreement was already executed. By MIDA's own language, the development agreement was signed before any lawful project area plan existed.

MIDA's entire finding — in full — reads:

"The Plan promotes public peace, health, safety, and welfare by providing for orderly development, coordinated infrastructure investment, reliable energy systems, and the provision of essential public utilities and services necessary to support the Development Project and the surrounding area."

— MIDA Project Area Plan, Resolution 2026-06

One sentence. No study cited. No data referenced. No analysis of actual impacts. No consideration of public testimony. No mention of the community whose welfare is at issue.

Three days after making this determination, MIDA's own representative confirmed the impact studies had not yet begun. The only completed independent scientific analysis directly contradicted the finding:

• USU physicist Robert Davies: the project would raise Utah's greenhouse gas production by approximately 50%.
• USU climate scientist Wei Zhang: thermal output would be sufficient to alter regional weather patterns.
• University of Utah professor Kevin Perry: carbon dioxide emissions for Utah would increase by more than 50%.
• 3,900 Utah residents filed formal water rights protests before the application was withdrawn.

The finding also addresses the welfare of the "surrounding area necessary to support the Development Project" — not "the community in which the project area is located" as the statute requires. These are not the same thing.

Notably, on March 4, 2026 — less than two months before MIDA adopted the plan — President Trump signed Proclamation 11014, the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, declaring that data center developers must pay for the full cost of energy and infrastructure and must not pass those costs to the American people. Seven major technology companies signed the pledge at the White House. O'Leary Digital and West GenCo have not signed it. No equivalent commitment appears in the MIDA plan or development agreement. MIDA's welfare finding does not address ratepayer impacts at all.

"The Stratos Project Area Plan would not become effective until Box Elder County provided its consent."

— Paul Morris, MIDA Executive Director, April 24 MIDA Board Meeting

"It was then noted that there was that aspect that was missed. We apologize."

— Hillary Venable, MIDA Representative, on the 10-day notice requirement, April 27

"Right now we've finished the due diligence and we're moving on to all of the impact studies."

— Hillary Venable, MIDA Representative, April 27 — three days after plan adoption

"There are five groups that will front this that will get this over the line and we have the chance to jump the line and we've been told that needs to happen this month — whether that's true or not — but that's the reason for the rush."

— Austin Pritchett, developer co-founder, April 27

"The commission has not been sitting on this for months. This started back in January, February. The commission's only been made aware of it in the last couple of weeks."

— Commissioner Perry, April 22

"The thing that's so frustrating for us, for commissioners, is all of a sudden, we're brought in the last hour, and we're expected to hurry."

— Commissioner Vincent, April 27

"[The amended resolution] extends the county's intent to engage and to look into the full benefits...until you may be ready in the future to consent officially."

— County Attorney Anne Hansen, April 22 — confirming the April 22 action was NOT county consent

As of the date of this briefing:

• No air quality permit for the Stratos Project exists in the Utah Department of Air Quality permit database. Developer Austin Pritchett confirmed air permitting is "a long process" still underway.
• No completed environmental impact studies exist. MIDA's own representative confirmed they had not yet begun as of April 27, 2026 — three days after plan adoption.
• The water rights application was withdrawn on May 8, 2026. The developer intends to refile under HB60, a new state law that significantly limits the public's right to protest water rights applications. Nearly 4,000 protests filed under the original application will not automatically carry over.
• MIDA has not publicly released documentation showing it provided the required 10-day written notice to any of the 12 taxing entities before the April 24 vote.

All documents below are publicly available government records. Note: Primary source document links have been corrected to use the full www.utah.gov domain for proper access.

"Unfortunately misinformation continues to muddy the facts of the Stratos Project Area creation. The taxing entities were properly legally noticed... the project area plan speaks for itself in terms of findings, stating specifically the plan will provide orderly development, coordinated infrastructure investment, reliable energy systems, and the provisions of essential public utilities and services necessary to support the development project."

— Kristin Kelley Williams, MIDA Spokesperson, Fox 13

On "Properly Legally Noticed"

Utah Code § 63H-1-402(2) requires MIDA to provide written notice to every taxing entity with jurisdiction over the project area at least 10 days before any public hearing. The MIDA board meeting was held April 24, 2026. Notice was required no later than April 14, 2026.

The public meeting notice was posted April 22 at 7:29 PM — 37 hours before the meeting. The board packet containing the draft plan was not uploaded until April 24 at 10:50 AM — after the meeting had already started.

Three days after the vote, MIDA's own representative addressed this on camera:

"It was then noted that there was that aspect that was missed. We apologize."

— Hillary Venable, MIDA Falcon Hill Project Area Director, April 27, 2026  ·  www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MggoV-xuhA, 44:14

MIDA's spokesperson told Fox 13 the taxing entities were properly noticed. MIDA's own representative said on video the opposite three days after the vote. MIDA has not produced documentation showing notice was sent to any of the 12 taxing entities before April 24.

On "The Plan Speaks for Itself"

Utah Code § 63H-1-401(2)(c)(iv) requires MIDA's project area plan to contain the board's determination that carrying out the plan will promote the public peace, health, safety, and welfare of the community. A determination requires evidence, analysis, and reasoning. It requires something to determine from.

Here is MIDA's entire health and welfare determination — verbatim, in full:

"The Plan promotes public peace, health, safety, and welfare by providing for orderly development, coordinated infrastructure investment, reliable energy systems, and the provision of essential public utilities and services necessary to support the Development Project and the surrounding area."

— MIDA Project Area Plan, Resolution 2026-06

One sentence. No study cited. No data referenced. No analysis. No evidence.

MIDA's spokesperson defended this finding by quoting it back. That is not a defense — it is a demonstration of the problem. Restating a conclusion does not supply the evidence that was missing when the conclusion was first made.

Three days after this determination was made, MIDA's own representative confirmed on camera that the impact studies had not yet begun:

"Right now we've finished the due diligence and we're moving on to all of the impact studies."

— Hillary Venable, MIDA representative, April 27, 2026  ·  www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MggoV-xuhA, 21:41

MIDA certified the project was safe for the community before they looked. The plan does not speak for itself. There is nothing behind it to speak.

"It is very important to note that the action of the MIDA Board on April 24 was not approving the construction of the facility — it was putting the tools in place to review and regulate such a facility as it will be designed and proposed."

— Kristin Kelley Williams, MIDA Spokesperson, Fox 13

Here is what MIDA actually signed on April 24, 2026.

A binding contractual obligation to complete construction of a 3-gigawatt power facility within five years is not "putting tools in place to review and regulate." The words "review and regulate" do not appear in the agreement. The words "complete construction" do.

This was a prepared statement. Someone wrote it, reviewed it, and sent it to Fox 13 while the Master Development Agreement sat publicly available on the Utah government website.

• The fabricated consent date. The project area plan adopted April 24 states "On April 26, 2026, the County approved the County Consent." No county meeting occurred on April 26. The document was finalized at 7:28 AM on April 24 — two days before the date it claims consent was given. County consent was not granted until May 4, 2026.
• The sequence violation. MIDA's own Executive Director stated at the April 24 meeting: "The Stratos Project Area Plan would not become effective until Box Elder County provided its consent." The development agreement was signed before that consent existed. MIDA's conditional effectiveness clause does not fix this — it describes the violation in different language.
• The ratepayer question. The Stratos Project is a 9-gigawatt natural gas facility with the potential to significantly impact Utah utility rates. President Trump signed Proclamation 11014 — the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — on March 4, 2026, establishing that data center developers must not pass infrastructure costs onto ratepayers. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI have signed it. O'Leary Digital has not. MIDA's welfare finding does not mention ratepayer impacts. MIDA's response did not either.

Everything on this page is sourced to public government records. Read them yourself.