Planning commission approves three conditional‑use permits for larger Wells Draw energy and data campus despite heavy public concern about water, emissions and/

Duchesne County’s planning commission approved three conditional‑use permits filed by Wells Draw Energy LLC/Energous (operating under several related LLCs) for a multi‑faceted energy and data campus on the South Mine Bench: a large solar power plant, a natural‑gas power plant and a proposed data center. Each permit passed after staff presentation, extensive public comment and motions to approve with conditions.

Staff framed the proposals as large but permissible uses in the A‑5 agricultural zone if conditions are imposed; for solar the county cited state code and local solar design standards (glare mitigation, decommissioning plan, substation/transmission plan submissions), for the natural‑gas plant staff recommended landscaping, livestock fencing, engineered interconnection plans and consultation with emergency management and Tri‑County Health, and for the data center staff flagged new state reporting requirements for large data centers (an operator must notify a water provider and state agencies if withdrawals exceed state thresholds and submit annual water reports after 07/01/2026).

Applicant representatives said the solar and gas plants are intended to provide behind‑the‑meter power for the site’s data center and related uses; they told the commission they are negotiating with potential water providers and with local utilities but have not finalized offtake contracts. Developer representatives described plans to use recycled produced water where feasible, to pursue field gas where it offsets emissions, and to employ current cooling and reuse technologies for the data center in order to limit fresh water use. The applicant also said they have financing in place but declined to disclose specifics during the hearing.

Public testimony was extensive and sharply divided. Proponents emphasized economic diversification, construction and long‑term jobs (applicants estimated roughly 200–400 data‑center jobs and hundreds of construction jobs) and tax‑base expansion. Opponents and many residents raised detailed concerns about water availability in an arid basin (questions about where culinary and cooling water would come from and whether the project would draw on local wells or municipal supplies), potential effects on local rates and water rights, heat and ecological impacts from large data center operations, emissions and backup‑generator impacts (NOx/ozone in a nonattainment area), decommissioning and battery disposal, and traffic and housing impacts during construction.

Staff and applicants repeatedly emphasized that the conditional‑use permits are an initial land‑use approval; subsequent steps (detailed engineering, EPA and DEQ permits, building permits, interconnection plans, and potential special‑service district or bonding arrangements) remain before construction and operation. Commissioners approved each of the three permits after motions and voice votes, attaching standard county conditions (business license, engineered interconnection plans approved by licensed engineers, landscaping and screening, wildland‑urban interface compliance, decommissioning plans and documentation of required state/federal permits). The record shows the county will require developers to return with substation/transmission plans and other documents for further reviews where those elements are developed.

The approvals do not eliminate federal or state permitting requirements; project proponents and staff stressed compliance with EPA, DEQ, DOGM and USFWS where applicable and acknowledged ongoing outreach to the Ute Tribe and local water providers.