Powering data centers on nuclear? That’s a tough sell in Utah’s coal country.

Carbon County, Utah, once produced nearly 10 million tons of coal a year; it has mined none since 2023. Now Valar Atomics wants to build 456 small modular reactors on Bureau of Land Management land there, an unproven technology in U.S. commercial use, to power data centers, steel manufacturing, and desalination, alongside a separate 1,200-acre gas-plant data center project called Jurassic Spark.

The Utah Trust Lands Administration has leased a square mile of state land to Valar for up to 100 years, projecting $35 million in rents over 50 years for Utah schools. At the board meeting approving the deal, its own chair acknowledged uncertainty about the technology, saying the state wasn't sure what to ask about because the project is a first of its kind.

Local residents describe organizing against the plans, while county commissioners say a silent majority supports them and point to Valar employees who spoke in favor. A county commission candidate who collected signatures to get on the ballot says the opinions she heard door to door ran overwhelmingly against the project.

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