- Some USU scientists question the feasibility of a mega data center in Box Elder County.
- Robert Davies highlights concerns over power consumption and environmental impact.
- Experts urge more information before proceeding with Project Stratos in Utah.
LOGAN — Robert Davies, a professor of physics at Utah State University, said he and several of his colleagues have a few dozen lingering questions when it comes to the feasibility of a mega data center that could reside on a campus across some 40,000 acres in northwestern Box Elder County.
The proposed project would initially generate some 3 gigawatts of power, eventually ramping up to as much as 9 gigawatts.
"This is New York City scale level of power consumption," Davies said. "In order to do that, you need quite a bit of water for the operation of the power plant."
In addition, he's concerned about the massive carbon footprint that he believes would be generated in producing that much power.
"Nine gigawatts of power of natural gas will raise Utah's current total greenhouse gas production by about 50%," he said.
But beyond questions over the impact of power generation, Davies said it's still very unclear how the data center could be cooled without using large amounts of water. While Utah's Military Installation Development told Box Elder County commissioners Monday that Project Stratos would use a closed loop cooling system, Davies isn't clear on where the heat will be expended.
"There's two ways to dump that energy. One of them is you can try to dump it into the air," he explained, comparing it to the radiator system we see in cars. "Ecologically speaking, that's probably the best case scenario. It's still not good, because it's an enormous amount of energy."
The other option would involve sending the heat back into the aquifer.
"That's a lot more efficient because the water is much better at dissipating heat than air is, particularly in a state where the air temperature is above 85 or 90 degrees of significant portion of time," he said. "But that's again an enormous thermal load, getting dumped into a very contained watershed in an ecosystem in a lake system that's already in crisis."
When asked about Davies' concerns, a Military Installation Development spokesperson told KSL, "For Phase 1, they expect to use about 24 acre feet for the data centers."
The spokesperson further added that the water used would be a net positive for Great Salt Lake, as it would fall far below the water rights it would be able to secure for the area.
Davies however said the claims don't make sense, at least when compared to any cooling systems at power plants or data centers.
"I'm not a power plant engineer, but that is an extraordinary claim," he said. "24 acre-feet for a 3GW facility is 97% more efficient with water than the most efficient gas plant I've been able to find" in Astoria, New York.
In addition he adds that water is lost in evaporation even in a closed loop system, and heated water put back into the environment also evaporates more. Patrick Belmont, a professor of watershed sciences at USU, agreed. He worries that the data center would take Utah some major steps backward in efforts to restore the Great Salt Lake.
"There have been thousands of people who have taken turfgrass out of their yards and replaced it with xeriscape or low water perennials. This would wipe out all of those gains," he said. "I was part of a report three years ago that showed we needed to get another million acre feet of water to Great Salt Lake. We've invested $1 billion toward that goal, and we really have almost nothing to show for that right now. And this is how we keep not making progress."
Both Belmont and Davies said the people of Utah, local and state leaders, and experts need much more information about Project Stratos before anything moves forward. They worry the process is being rushed.
Stepping aside from his role as a USU professor, Belmont adds his concern as a private citizen about how it's being pushed forward and his suspicions.
"There isn't a lot of science to support that this is a good idea," he said. "And the reason you would rush it is because you want to be able to overlook things that are maybe inconvenient."
