Salt Lake City / Utah
A state-backed 'Operation Gigawatt' posture plus a large-load statute that pushes costs onto the customer. Local transparency fights are emerging, but the state has some ability to preempt them.
Also top 10 in C&W grid-stability ranking [Cushman & Wakefield, 2026 Global Data Center Market Comparison (Americas rankings) (2026-05)]
Power and the queue
- SB 132 (2025) created Utah's large-load framework. Rocky Mountain Power's first contract under it (over 100 MW, customer pays incremental costs) was filed at the PSC on Feb 10, 2026. [Utah PSC docket 26-035-05: Rocky Mountain Power large-load contract application (2026-02-10); Moratorium Nation dataset (M. Bommarito, CC BY 4.0), current through Sep 23, 2026 (2026-09-23)]
Notable projects owners where public
- A $10B data center is planned near residences (Sep 2026), and neighbors say they were left 'in the dark'. [Salt Lake Tribune: Utahns left 'in the dark' on $10B data center planned across street (2026-09-14)]
Regulatory posture incentives, moratoria, zoning, water, large-load rules
- 2026: HB 76 requires data center water notice and reporting. HB 507 limits political-subdivision actions on state-coordinated projects. [Moratorium Nation dataset (M. Bommarito, CC BY 4.0), current through Sep 23, 2026 (2026-09-23)]
Pending legislation and actions 0 items
None tracked.
In force / enacted 5 items
| Date | Jurisdiction | Item | Status | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-08 | Clearfield city | Temporary land use regulation/moratorium on data center development approved by Clearfield City Council 4-0 on September 8, 2026, following an August 25, 2026 work-session discussion (recorded in the Clearfield City Council adopted a 180-day moratorium on data center development after a zoning-determination request exposed a gap in the city's zoning code. Duration: 180 days from adoption (to approximately 2027-03-07). | in force | high | [https://www.utah.gov/pmn/files/1485679.pdf] |
| 2026-03-25 | Utah state | HB0507 (2026) State Coordination of Regional and Local Economic Development Projects Amendments. Limits political subdivision incentives for large load data centers, with exceptions; creates regional development-zone tools; creates an optional county energy excise tax; addr | enacted | high | [Utah Legislature bill-status data feed for H.B. 507 (2026 General Session)] |
| 2025-03-25 | Utah state | SB0132 (2025) Created Utah's large-scale electric service framework, including large load contracts, cost allocation, and PSC review. | enacted | high | [Utah Legislature bill-status data feed for S.B. 132 (2025 General Session)] |
| 2020-03-31 | Utah state | SB0114 (2020) Amended sales and use tax exemption rules for qualifying data centers and occupants. | enacted | high | [Utah Legislature bill-status data feed for S.B. 114 (2020 General Session)] |
| 2026-03-23 | Utah state | HB0076 (2026) Data Center Water Transparency Amendments. Requires notice and water reporting for certain large data centers, including pre-construction communication with water providers and annual reporting. | enacted | medium | [Utah Legislature bill-status data feed for H.B. 76 (2026 General Session)] |
Pricing & supply snapshot directional
MW Desk estimate / directional range, Q4 2026
Asking-rate bands below are MW Desk directional estimates in USD per kW-month. They are rounded ranges, not quoted rates, and they go stale quickly.
- Retail colo (roughly 0–250 kW): $140–330/kW-mo
- Wholesale (roughly 250 kW–4 MW): $105–240/kW-mo
- Large / hyperscale blocks (roughly 4 MW+): $105–215/kW-mo
- Vacancy band: under 0.5% (extremely tight)
- Commissioned inventory (directional): ~0.4–0.9 GW
- Available power (directional): ~0–25 MW
- Under construction: ~5–50 MW
- Planned pipeline: ~1.0–1.5 GW
- Absorption: strong positive absorption
- Power / timing: Immediate powered shell is scarce; expect multi-year waits for net-new large-load service in constrained pockets.
Indicative only. Ranges are rounded and adjusted directional estimates, not quoted asking rates or a survey. Confirm with brokers and operators before acting. Source data ages quickly.
TJ field notes
Coming soon: TJ's on-the-ground notes on this market. Expect what the queue really looks like, which sites can actually get power, and what the brokers aren't saying.
Slot reserved for TJ's detailed market report.