**Public opposition and required project revisions have slowed permitting and construction timelines for the Stratos data center in Box Elder County.** Kevin O’Leary’s O’Leary Digital partnered with West GenCo on the hyperscale campus, initially spanning roughly 40,000 acres and powered primarily by on-site natural gas generation. Local land-use approval came in early May 2026 despite protests over water rights near the Great Salt Lake, air emissions, and land use. Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams then demanded a 75% size reduction plus stronger environmental safeguards; O’Leary agreed in early June to cut the footprint roughly in half to about 20,000 acres while committing to additional wildlife and open-space protections. As of mid-June, the developer states that permits remain pending, engineering continues, and no groundbreaking has occurred. Residents have filed lawsuits, water-rights applications have been withdrawn or face review, and a county moratorium on new data centers underscores ongoing regulatory scrutiny. These factors—redesign negotiations, environmental reviews, and legal challenges—have extended the pre-construction phase into the second half of 2026, supporting trader consensus that the probability of groundbreaking before year-end sits just below even.