Developer outlines "island" data center, schedules neighborhood meeting after resident questions

Jonathan Jensen, a developer representative, told the Santaquin City Council on Jan. 6 that the company's proposed data center would operate as an "island" facility — producing its own electricity on site rather than drawing from the local grid — and would use a closed‑loop cooling system that Jensen characterized as using “about 90% less” water than traditional data centers. Jensen spoke during the council's public forum after local residents asked for more transparency about the project.

Residents urged the city to host a public meeting where developers and independent experts could answer environmental and infrastructure questions. Bridal Bowen, who identified herself in the public forum, said she had seen concerns online and asked the council for opportunities to get “real answers instead of speculation.” Bowen asked about effluent, noise and what the facility would look like from nearby neighborhoods.

Jensen responded point‑by‑point and offered to convene a neighborhood meeting “later this month or maybe the February 1” to provide more detail. He described the project as not connected to the electrical grid so it would not increase residential electricity demand, and said the project would source natural gas from existing high‑pressure lines in the region rather than from Enbridge. On water and cooling, Jensen said the facility would rely on closed‑loop cooling and that the project team expects consumption to be “hardly anything compared to a data center, traditionally.” He described filters and periodic removal of coolant that, if disposed of, would be trucked to an appropriate disposal facility.

On air emissions and permitting, Jensen said the facility would need an air permit and must meet the county and state standards for a nonattainment area; he said the project must use "best available technology" to meet that standard and that air quality outside the property line should remain unchanged by the facility's emissions according to the permitting process. On noise, Jensen said equipment would be dampened and that noise at the property line would be around 65 decibels, which he described as a level that would typically not be heard at a resident's house.

Jensen also addressed economic questions, telling the council the project would generate a municipal energy tax (MET) stream and other revenues. He gave an aggregate estimate of roughly $3,600,000 per year to the city from multiple revenue streams and said the MET portion that would flow to Santaquin is on the order of $1.6 million to $1.7 million per year in perpetuity — figures he described as estimates. Jensen said the project would create roughly 100 high‑tech jobs paying in the range of $120,000 to $200,000 annually, while noting the number of positions is not large compared with traditional industrial projects.

Council members and staff said the project and the related zoning change have been discussed at prior meetings and are documented in the posted minutes; the mayor said the developer has attended several open meetings in the last six months. After public questions about bandwidth, electromagnetic fields and coolant disposal, Jensen agreed to provide additional information and to organize a neighborhood meeting so residents can speak directly with project engineers and environmental experts.

Next steps: Jensen said he would email the council to set the neighborhood meeting date and agreed to provide supplemental materials and photos the council requested. The council did not take formal action on the project at the Jan. 6 meeting; the developer will return for follow‑up engagement and staff will post meeting details when they are scheduled.