UT — State Policy Updated 2026-07-17

Utah

A. State sales/use tax exemptions B. Local incentive restrictions and other incentives A. Statewide moratoriums B. Local moratoriums and land use pauses C. Zoning / land use controls D. Environmental constraints Water Constraints

1) Incentive programs

A. State sales/use tax exemptions (data center specific)

  • Qualifying data center equipment exemption (Utah Code §59-12-104; tax guidance): Utah exempts qualifying purchases or leases of machinery, equipment, and normal operating repair/replacement parts used in a qualifying data center or an occupant’s operations in the qualifying data center. The exemption remains in force; no bill enacted between February 1 and July 17, 2026 repealed or narrowed the state sales/use tax exemption itself. (Utah Code §59-12-104, accessed 2026-07-17; Utah State Tax Commission Publication 25, accessed 2026-07-17)
  • Eligibility threshold / definition (Utah Code §59-12-102): A “qualifying data center” is a Utah facility newly constructed on or after July 1, 2016, that houses networked server computers, consists of one or more buildings totaling at least 150,000 square feet, and meets ownership/lease and parcel-control requirements. (Utah Code §59-12-102, accessed 2026-06-10)
  • Clean energy conditions: The qualifying data center sales/use tax exemption and statutory definition do not impose renewable energy or emissions conditions. (Utah Code §59-12-102, accessed 2026-06-10; Utah Code §59-12-104, accessed 2026-06-10)

B. Local incentive restrictions and other incentives

  • H.B. 507 (2026) - local incentive restriction enacted: H.B. 507, signed by the governor on March 25, 2026 and effective May 6, 2026, prohibits political subdivisions, beginning May 6, 2027, from providing incentives to a “large load data center” except through specified regionally significant development zone or regional economic development authority pathways. The bill defines an “incentive” broadly to include payments, rebates, refunds, subsidies, awards, offsets, or public funds for public infrastructure and improvements that wholly or primarily support a large load customer; it defines “large load data center” as a large load customer that is also a qualifying data center. (Utah Legislature bill data for H.B. 507, 2026-03-25; Utah Legislature enrolled H.B. 507, 2026-03-25)
  • H.B. 507 created a county energy excise tax and bounded incentive pathways: A county may levy up to 6% on the delivered value of energy used by a high-impact consumer on unincorporated land; the state retains 10% and returns 90% to the county. A county or municipality may return up to 80% of its energy-tax revenue as a large-load-data-center incentive, and a regional authority may use zone funds or up to 60% of overlapping project-area property-tax increment. The combined county/MIDA-type energy-tax rate may not exceed 6%. These provisions preserve structured incentive routes even as the bill bars other local incentives beginning in 2027. (Utah Legislature enrolled H.B. 507, 2026-03-25)
  • No new data-center-specific state property tax abatement or investment tax credit located in the February 1-July 17, 2026 update; the material incentive changes were H.B. 507’s restriction on local incentives and MIDA’s project-specific Stratos financing/tax structure rather than a new statewide data-center tax credit. (Utah Legislature enrolled H.B. 507, 2026-03-25; MIDA Board meeting minutes, 2026-04-24)

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

A. Statewide moratoriums

B. Local moratoriums and land use pauses

  • Iron County 180-day moratorium: On May 26, 2026, Iron County adopted a 180-day moratorium on accepting and processing new land use applications related to data centers, data center power plants, and solar power plants. The county’s project page states that the Red Butte Data Center application was submitted May 4, 2026, deemed incomplete May 22, 2026, and remains on hold under the moratorium. (Iron County Proposed Data Center Information, accessed 2026-07-17)
  • Box Elder County adopted 180-day moratorium: The County Commission adopted Ordinance 654 on June 10, 2026, temporarily suspending new zone changes, land use applications, building permits, and business licenses for data centers, data-center power plants, and supporting digital infrastructure in unincorporated county areas. The moratorium does not apply to Stratos because MIDA holds land-use jurisdiction over that project area. (Box Elder County, 2026-06-10; Box Elder County Ordinance 654, 2026-06-10)
  • Cache County adopted 180-day moratorium: On June 23, 2026, the County Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2026-32, pausing new data-center land-use, business-license, building-permit, conditional-use, and related approvals in unincorporated Cache County while staff develops permanent standards; complete applications submitted before passage are exempt. (Cache County proposed Ordinance 2026-32, 2026-06-18; Utah Public Radio, 2026-07-01)
  • Logan City temporary prohibition: Logan adopted Ordinance 26-12 on June 30, 2026; it was published and took effect July 1, temporarily prohibiting development and construction of data centers and power plants while the city studies permanent regulations. (Utah Public Notice Website, 2026-07-01)
  • Grand County adopted 180-day pause: On July 7, the County Commission unanimously adopted a temporary land-use regulation pausing new data-center applications while it develops permanent standards; no project application was pending. The county’s May staff study identified grid, aquifer, emergency-service, visual, and fiscal constraints. (Grand County Commission agenda, 2026-07-07; Salt Lake Tribune, 2026-07-10; Grand County Planning Commission staff report, 2026-05-26)
  • Tooele and Sanpete rule reviews, not enacted bans as of July 17: Tooele County adopted Resolution 2026-18 in June, directing staff and the Planning Commission to draft data-center land-use rules, an energy excise tax, and regionally significant development zone overlays while applying the pending-ordinance doctrine. Sanpete County’s Planning Commission discussed whether to recommend a moratorium on July 7, but no final County Commission moratorium was located by July 17. (Tooele County Council agenda and Resolution 2026-18 description, 2026-06-16; ABC4 via AOL, 2026-06-17; Sanpete County Planning Commission agenda, 2026-07-07)
  • Milford proposal pending: Milford City’s June 16 agenda included proposed Ordinance 04-2026, a 180-day citywide pause on data centers, data-center power plants, utility-scale solar, and supporting infrastructure; the posted ordinance in the meeting packet had an uncompleted adoption line, and no separate final-action notice was located by July 17. (Milford City Council packet, 2026-06-16)
  • Salt Lake City temporary high-water-use restriction: On March 24, Salt Lake City adopted Ordinances 008 and 009 of 2026, clarifying that the existing 200,000-gallon-per-day limit covers all new nonresidential development and establishing a 180-day zoning rule under which noncompliant applications cannot be approved. The rule is not data-center-specific but constrains any proposed high-water-use facility. (Salt Lake City Ordinance 008 synopsis, 2026-03-24; Salt Lake City Ordinance 009 synopsis, 2026-03-24; Salt Lake City Planning Division, 2026-04-02)

C. Zoning / land use controls (by-right vs. conditional use)

  • H.B. 76 enacted: H.B. 76 (Data Center Water Transparency Amendments) was signed March 23, 2026 and took effect May 6, 2026. It defines a “large data center” as a facility with annual water withdrawal of at least 75 acre-feet, at least 10,000 square feet of building area, and associated data center infrastructure; a “new large data center” is one beginning operations on or after July 1, 2026. (Utah Legislature bill data for H.B. 76, 2026-03-23; Utah Legislature enrolled H.B. 76, 2026-03-23)
  • H.B. 76 notice and reporting requirements: Before approving a land use application for a new large data center, a municipal or county land use authority must notify the Division of Water Rights, Division of Water Quality, and relevant water provider. Beginning July 1, 2026, operators must notify and report anticipated water needs 90-360 days before construction, annually report water-reduction efforts and actual withdrawals by July 1, and face potential fines of up to $100 per day for incomplete or missing reports after notice. The Division of Water Rights must publish non-aggregate withdrawal data by September 1 for the prior calendar year, subject to protected-record treatment for certain proprietary information. (Utah Legislature enrolled H.B. 76, 2026-03-23)
  • H.B. 60 water-rights standard changed: H.B. 60 was signed March 23 and effective May 6, 2026. It narrowed how protests may affect a water-right application and limits the state engineer’s public-welfare inquiry to effects on beneficial use or the quantity, quality, or availability of water and to other factors specifically directed by statute, a change that directly shaped the legal environment for contested data-center water applications. (Utah Legislature bill data for H.B. 60, 2026-03-23; Utah Legislature enrolled H.B. 60, 2026-03-23)

3) Local governance and preemption

4) Legislative / regulatory activity (2024-2026)

5) Notable data center projects and operators

A. Major projects announced / under construction

  • Novva Data Centers (West Jordan campus): Major multi-phase campus in West Jordan; city and company sources describe a 100-acre, multi-phase expansion with significant capacity and investment. (West Jordan City, 2025-03-11; Novva Data Centers, 2021-12-01)
  • NSA Utah (Bluffdale): NSA lists NSA Utah as a cryptologic location in Bluffdale, confirming federal data center presence in the state. (NSA, accessed 2026-06-10)
  • Millard County mega-projects (Delta/Fillmore area): Reporting describes Creekstone Energy and Joule Capital Partners data center campuses in Millard County; county approvals include rezoning and CUP processes for data center facilities. (Utah Business, 2025-11-05; Millard County public notice, 2025-06-04)
  • Delta Gigasite agreement (Creekstone + BluSky AI): A 2025 agreement for up to 50 MW of infrastructure at the Delta Gigasite was announced, indicating early tenant commitments. (Utah Business, 2025-08-01)
  • QTS Eagle Mountain campus construction milestone: QTS and Eagle Mountain held a topping-out ceremony on April 17 for the first building in a five-building first phase on 193 acres. The city says the project is supporting more than 2,000 construction jobs, is expected to create more than 100 permanent jobs, uses closed-loop cooling, and requires QTS to bear its energy costs. (Eagle Mountain City, 2026-04-20)
  • Project Aquila / Meta on-site generation: Eagle Mountain’s Planning Commission recommended approval on February 24 of a development agreement for Will-Power’s 286 MW natural-gas plant and half-mile line serving Meta’s expansion behind the meter. Will-Power filed an amended closed-private-generation application with the PSC on May 7, but the PSC’s July 8 notice said it would take no further action until the applicant supplies required information, so the generation project remained pre-operational and pending as of July 17. (Eagle Mountain Planning Commission minutes, 2026-02-24; Will-Power amended PSC application, 2026-05-07; Utah PSC notice, 2026-07-08)
  • Nine Mile Data / Wells Draw complex (Duchesne County): County filings describe a $10 billion data-center investment using about 475 acres southwest of Myton, with up to 1,000 peak construction workers, 200 operating jobs, and operations targeted before 2030. It would be paired with a separately permitted 400 MW natural-gas plant with 800-1,600 MWh of storage and a 333 MW solar project; its April approvals survived the county-level appeals. (Duchesne County Nine Mile findings report, 2026-04-02; Duchesne County Wells Draw gas findings report, 2026-04-02; Duchesne County Wells Draw solar findings report, 2026-04-02; Duchesne County Commission minutes, 2026-04-27)
  • CyrusOne at Dugway Proving Ground: The U.S. Army conditionally selected CyrusOne on March 26 for exclusive negotiations over a privately financed commercial hyperscale campus on approximately 1,201 acres at Dugway. The Army targets initial operating capability in fiscal 2029, but negotiations and environmental/regulatory review must precede any construction; the Army did not disclose investment or MW in its announcement. (U.S. Army, 2026-03-26; U.S. Army, 2026-06-25)
  • Stratos Project Area (Box Elder County / MIDA / O’Leary Digital): MIDA adopted the approximately 40,000-acre project-area plan, development standards, development agreement, and a 0.5% energy-use tax on April 24, and Box Elder County approved Resolution 26-11 on May 4. The developer later announced a reduction to roughly 20,000 acres, but MIDA’s current page says the interlocal agreement, development agreement, and standards remain draft and unsigned during the referendum dispute; full buildout also still requires phased planning and state permits. (MIDA Board meeting minutes, 2026-04-24; Box Elder County, 2026-05-04; KSL, 2026-06-04; MIDA Stratos project page, accessed 2026-07-17)
  • Stratos litigation and water status: The referendum/MIDA lawsuit remained pending and the first two water-right applications had been withdrawn by July 17; those developments leave the project approved at the project-area level but not construction-ready. (Utah Public Radio, 2026-05-28; Utah News Dispatch, 2026-06-05; MIDA Stratos project page, accessed 2026-07-17)
  • Antelope Data Campus (Iron County / Pronghorn Development): Iron County noticed a 640-acre conditional use application for a data center and data center power plant on Antelope Springs Road; the Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit on June 4, 2026. (Utah Public Notice Website, 2026-03-05; KSL, 2026-06-07)
  • Red Butte Energy and Data Center Campus (Iron County / BrightNight): BrightNight’s proposed Iron County campus would include a 1.5 GW data center, 1.5 GW natural gas power, 300 MW solar, and 300 MW / 1,200 MWh battery storage; Iron County states the application was submitted May 4, 2026, deemed incomplete May 22, 2026, and placed on hold under the moratorium. (BrightNight, accessed 2026-06-10; Iron County, accessed 2026-06-10)

Notes on methodology

  • This review covers developments from February 1 through July 17, 2026. Sources prioritized primary statutes, enrolled bills, state agency publications, local ordinances/public notices, and PUC/PSC materials. News and company sources were used for final-vote confirmation, opposition, or project context when primary sources did not provide all details.