Two Data Centers. Two Very Different Power Plans.

Two projects that include large data centers are planned for Carbon County, Utah, and each one brings its own power source. Altigen plans a natural gas plant for their Jurassic Spark campus east of Wellington. Valar Atomics plans an industrial campus north of town powered by small modular reactors, or SMRs. Data centers are one of several planned uses there.

Energy has long shaped this county, and its mines produced nearly 10 million tons of coal in 2006. Not a pound has been mined here since 2023, and the Carbon Power Plant shut down in 2015.

Altigen builds natural gas power plants for data centers. Their Jurassic Spark project covers 1,200 acres east of Wellington.

According to Commissioner Larry Jensen, plans call for a gas plant of 250 megawatts to start, with the potential to eventually produce 3 gigawatts. The entire state of Utah uses about 4 gigawatts today.

In May 2026, county commissioners took up a gas pipeline right-of-way through Bureau of Land Management property. The commission unanimously approved a preliminary agreement to take ownership of that right-of-way to help the project move forward.

Data center developers are increasingly turning to natural gas because utilities have struggled to meet the power demands of AI servers. In Utah, SB 132 passed in 2025 and lets companies needing 100 megawatts or more build their own generating stations. A wave of natural gas plant plans and permit applications followed.

On September 17, 2026, the Utah Trust Lands Administration board unanimously approved a lease with Valar Atomics. The lease covers a square mile of state land for up to 100 years.

The site sits about 5 miles north of Wellington, surrounded by Bureau of Land Management land. Agency staff told the board the lease should bring in $35 million in rent over 50 years, with the revenue going to Utah schools.

Valar plans to power several industrial operations with their reactors. The list includes TRISO fuel processing for their own reactors, water desalination, steel manufacturing, critical mineral refining, and data centers.

Utah leaders allowed Valar to test their Ward250 microreactor at the San Rafael Energy Lab in neighboring Emery County. In June 2026, Valar announced they had achieved self-sustaining criticality.

Even so, SMRs have yet to be deployed commercially anywhere in the United States. Board chair Mike Nelson praised the startup during the meeting but suggested the deal still carried some unknowns.

"We weren't always sure what to ask about," Nelson said, "and probably still aren't sure of everything to ask about because this is a first, right?"

All three county commissioners spoke in favor of the Valar lease at the board meeting.

"It's important that you understand that the Carbon County commissioners are committed to allowing these things to move forward," said Commissioner Larry Jensen. He added that the commissioners represent what he called the silent majority.

Cheryl Lupo sees it differently. She is running for a seat on the county commission this year. She said the feedback she heard while collecting signatures for the ballot was overwhelmingly opposed to data centers and nuclear plants.

"People are up in arms," Lupo said. "Torches and pitchforks. Because they're not being heard."

Water is another concern in a region where every drop is already spoken for. Valar says their reactors use helium cooling in a closed loop. Data center developers have also said they will use cooling systems that run in a closed loop and need little water.

On a campus that makes its own gas power, the pipeline and plant are usually the first scopes out the door. The county has already approved a preliminary agreement on the pipeline right-of-way. That gives civil, pipeline, and electrical subs a clear first scope to watch on Jurassic Spark.

Valar is a different bet. With no SMR yet deployed commercially in the U.S., there's no track record to schedule against. Anyone weighing early commitments should treat timing as an open question. A commission candidate who says she'll never support nuclear adds a local variable too.

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