A proposed Utah data center project called Stratos, also known as Wonder Valley, would cover 40,000 acres and could consume up to 9 GW of power. That level of power use would exceed more than double the state’s average electricity use. Sightline Climate’s analysis assigns the project a roughly 15% likelihood of materializing. The assessment considers development progress, whether power is sourced and financing is secured, and whether tenants have signed. The project is described as lacking the building blocks needed for an off-grid project of this scale. No construction activity is visible despite reported plans for early construction and operating phases.
"“There is no precedent for a developer pulling off an off-grid project of this size yet,” Wang says via email, “and the project has none of the building blocks in place that would make us think otherwise.”"
"“Wonder Valley comes up short on every single one at the moment,” Wang says. Despite reporting by The Logic that said construction would start this year, with a first operating phase by 2027, there is no construction activity yet. The Stratos Project website currently says that Phase 1 construction will occur from 2026 to 2028. The full buildout, including the 9 GW of capacity and about 90 data center buildings, is listed on the timeline under “2030+.”"
"Sightline Climate has more than 1,000 hyperscale data center projects around the world in its pipeline database, and scores them on certain factors to predict if they'll actually get built. Right now, Wang says, the model puts the likelihood of Wonder Valley actually materializing at “roughly 15%.”"
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