Speaking at the One Utah Summit in Cedar City, Gov. Spencer Cox unveiled “Operation Gigawatt,” a plan to double the state’s power production over the next decade.

“We have to do something bold,” Cox said, adding that Utah needs to not only supply its own power needs but be able to export energy to other states and nations.

When he became governor, he said, he knew about the need to increase energy production. The reasons were plentiful, including Utah’s booming population, the electrification of vehicles and appliances, an aging energy infrastructure, and energy production being phased-out. “Sadly, we have an administration that is pushing to phase out that baseload power before we had baseload dispatchable power to take its place,” Cox said of the Biden administration.

What was not realized at the time was the power needs of artificial intelligence. For example, he said, a computer search using AI takes 10 times more energy than using Google.

“What you need to know about artificial intelligence is that it, well, it might save the world and make everything perfect, or destroy the world – we’re not sure which one of those two paths we’re going down. But what we are sure of is, it is happening and that it takes an enormous amount of power – more power than you can really comprehend,” Cox said.

The U.S., he said, is in an AI data center “global arms race” against China, Russia and others. “Whether it’s good or bad, it’s happening, and we have to keep up,” the governor said.

Already, Utah is facing a request for 1.4 gigawatts (or 1,400 megawatts) of power for one data center project. To put that in perspective, Cox noted that the entire state of Wyoming uses 900 megawatts and Utah uses about 4 gigawatts. And, he added, “we have multiple of these campuses that want to build in Utah.”

Operation Gigawatt aims to boost energy production in Utah by:

• Increasing transmission capacity so more power can be placed on the grid and moved to where it’s needed.

• Expanding and developing more energy production, including investing in existing sources while developing new sustainable sources.

• Enhancing Utah’s policies to enable clean, reliable energy like nuclear and geothermal. Those were the only energy sources cited by the governor and others on the summit stage when introducing Operation Gigawatt. Utah currently has no commercial-scale nuclear reactor. Regarding nuclear energy, Dusty Monks, interim director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, said a consortium of experts will be established “to drive and deploy a project in the state.”

• Investing in Utah innovation and research that aligns with our energy policies. 

Monks said there is no “golden ticket” to solve all of the state’s energy challenges, but he added that Utah “is ideally positioned because of our favorable energy policy, our abundant resources and our pioneering spirit.”

Utah sets itself apart from other states by prioritizing the energy needs of its residents, he said.

“While other states narrowly focus on individual resources, Utah focuses on why we generate electricity in the first place, and that is to support and to enhance the well-being of our communities,” Monks said.

“There is such enormous demand and growth in our state that we need to provide this for the well-being of all Utahns,” said Joe Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.

“Really,” Monks said, “Utah recognizes that energy is more than just power. Energy is the foundation for progress, it’s the engine of innovation and it’s the catalyst for our modern life. Operation Gigawatt is more than investing in energy. It’s investing in our future.” λ