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By Myrna Trauntvein Several people attended Juab County Commission last Monday, some in opposition and some in favor of a zone change for 308 acres that may lead to a data center in the future. Colby Park, county planner and IT director, said that the zone change was being requested for Dog Valley off SR 132 along the Dog Valley South Road. In attendance were: Ryan Matthews, presentation engineer, Mike Sperry, Vice President at Juab Title and Abstract Company, Michael Morgan, Jim McWilliams, Michael and Malachi Peterson, Rex Kay, Clayton Rindlisbacher, and by phone, Paul McPherson. “Currently, the zone proposed for a change is A-1 (Agriculture),” said Park. “It would be moved to Industrial.” “Some property in that area is already annexed,” said Marty Palmer, commissioner. McPherson said that the area proposed for the zone change was further west than the annexed area directly west of Nephi. It was the spot where he calved his cows and was towards Spring Canyon. Mathews said that the location was three miles south of the highway. He was discussing the need for the zone change in behalf of potential clients. “A conditional use permit is not something that data centers are interested in,” he said. “Potential clients are not interested in conditional use permits.” They did like the efficiency of scale and the great access that the property offered. The property is approximately three miles south of the highway, he said. “The campus will be a closed system,” said Williams. “It is like a car radiator.” A car’s radiator is part of a closed, pressurized cooling system, meaning coolant circulates in a sealed loop, exchanging heat with the outside air but not continuously losing or gaining fluid, allowing for higher operating temperatures and efficiency. While the radiator itself transfers energy (heat) to the air, the entire system (radiator, engine block, hoses, pump, thermostat, reservoir) keeps the coolant contained. “It is an engineered product and is shipped in,” said Williams. “It can’t be water.” He said that the climate in Dog Valley was another draw. For eight months of the year, the windows can be opened. It was called free air conditioning. “Chips do well up to 92 degrees,” said Williams. He said that he grew up in agriculture and understood how important water was to agriculture. “New tech is the reason they want to come here,” Williams said. “The data center will use less water by five times than growing five acres of hay.” He said that 4,000 acres of solar panels was also planned for the area. “We might be able to drop power to the grid because we will be generating power,” he said. “Eagle Mountain has only 75 to 100 people per building so there will not be much water use by employees.” “What do you do when the temperature hits 99 degrees?” asked Marvin Kenison, commission chairman. “Because it is a closed loop,” said Williams, “the temperature will be regulated.” A closed-loop data center uses sealed cooling systems, often with liquid, that recirculate coolant to efficiently absorb server heat, cool it down, and reuse it, improving energy efficiency compared to traditional evaporative methods by containing the coolant within the system, often requiring only an initial fill. “What about water for use by employees?” asked Palmer. McWilliams said that McPherson had a well on the property and would allow the clients to use that well water. “We could put in a 100,000 gallon tank and use that for restrooms,” said Williams. “It takes less that one gallon of water to flush.” Palmer said that Malachi Peterson may not want the road developed because he had built in the area to enjoy the privacy. Clinton Painter, commissioner, asked if the clients interested were known or if Willams and his group were still prospecting. “We want to get the zone ready because of the high interest in developing data centers,” said Williams. “We have concerns about water,” said Michael Peterson. The ranching in the area was dry land with water hauled in for cattle to drink. He said that cows did not need the traffic that developing the road would create. “I do have concerns with the increased traffic,” said Malachi Peterson. They were also wondering, said Michael Peterson, how much power would be needed. The amount of power would depend on how many buildings there were but it would likely be 700 to 900 megawatts annually. The producer of the power, the potential client, would get credits for green power from the government. “It does not sound like they will use as much water as we thought,” said Rindlisbacher. “The church would like to be kept in the loop.” He said that the area was all dry land farming and water was a concern. In addition, Rocky Mountain Power was the supplier for power there and that may affect construction of a power generation plant. Lynn Ingram, county road superintendent, said that the road would need to be improved to handle the traffic increase, there was also the concern about snow removal, and he wanted it understood that sales tax did not come to the road department. Park said that all that was being requested was a zone change. The developer would still need to submit a site plan, and there was a lot of planning that would need to take place before the project could be built. “We would get sales tax from the generators,” said Painter. “It is still years out before any construction could begin. They will need a building permit.” Williams said that they would need to have an agreement with Kern River Gas, also. Palmer, though he said he was still concerned about water, made the motion to approve the zone change from agricultural to industrial. Painter made the second and all voted in favor. “Millard got a bait and switch,” said Kenison. “We don’t want that to happen to us.” They would be cautious about any future plans.
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