Eagle Mountain is the 4th largest city in Utah by area. It’s boarders currently contain 50.43 sq mi (130.6 km2), and is only smaller than Salt Lake, St. George, and Hurricane. Some could say that Eagle Mountain has much more land west and south just waiting for development. It is also the home to a Meta data center and one in the works for Google. There is now a third player in the Data Center arena that is making a play for some of Eagle Mountains real estate.
On 6/11/2024 the Eagle Mountain Planning Commission was shown a Development Agreement from a company called Tract. Tract specializes in acquiring, conditioning, and commissioning land for Data Centers. In May, 2024 they opened a new 20,000 sq ft office in Denver, CO. This was shortly after they announced a partnership with Silicon Ranch to help with its developments. In the article “Silicon Ranch, Tract Collaborating on Renewables for Hyperscale Data Centers” by Rod Walton in EnergyTech magazine the move is set to help with data center development in Eagle Mountain. “Nashville-based Silicon Ranch is already working with Tract on site acquisition and interconnection processes for utility-scale solar and battery projects to support the planned campuses in Nevada and Utah.” The article quotes Tract CEO and Managing Partner Grant van Rooyen saying, “As renewable power and data centers intersect, we need to plan strategically, with a longer time horizon in mind. With Silicon Ranch, we found a partner to build thought leadership, and we look forward to collaborating with them in Nevada, Utah, and beyond.”
What does this mean for Eagle Mountain? This partnership will not bring a new data center location to Eagle Mountain, but will most likely also bring a solar farm to Eagle Mountain unlike anything seen in Utah. Silicon Ranch is already helping Meta with its goal of moving to renewable energy in projects in GA. Silicon Ranch boasted in a January 2024 press release that it has been able to acquire over $1 billion in investment capital. “Combined with a $775 million raise in early 2022, Silicon Ranch has secured in excess of $1 billion in new equity capital over the past year to execute its disciplined business plan. The company plans to grow its strong, diverse, and talented team in 2023 to support engineering, procurement, and construction for its contracted pipeline; operate and maintain its growing operating portfolio of more than 150 PV plants across 15 states; and accelerate its growth strategy with the development of new projects to meet customer needs in markets across the country.” Giving it plenty of capital to purchase land and execute any disciplined business plan it may have in Utah.
Silicon Ranch uses SP EPC, LLC as the company for development in areas that it has built solar farms in the past. In 2015 an LLC under that name was registered with the State of Utah.
What is in the agreement? The agreement has not been agreed to by the City Council, so it is not officially inked yet. The Planning Commission did not agree with the agreement, but then sent it on to the City Council for their review. There are some major differences in the Meta (Stadion Development), and the Google (Curley Bird Development) and the proposed Tract agreements. I don’t have a copy of the Curley Bird development agreement due to stated confidentiality issues.
A lot of the agreement seems to be standard boiler plate legal jargon, but there are some noticeable differences between the two agreements.
The first one is the Tract agreement has an Accessory Uses clause not found in the Stadion agreement. This section states that Eagle Mountain will allow Tract to engage in the following accessory uses.
- Electric and Utility generation, distribution, and transmission
- Power substation facilities
- Battery and fuel storage facilities
- General storage facilities
- Water and sewer facilities
- Communication, broadband, fiber optic, and other private utilities
- Renewable energy generation and transmission (whether located on or off the property)
- All public Utilities
- Other city allowed accessory uses
The second difference is the Tract agreement removes the need for any additional Master Development Plan Requirements and has no obligation to submit any master development plan to the city. Removing all the requirements found in City Code Chapter 16.10 – Master Developments.
The third difference is in the Tract agreement under Additional Property, it specifically states that any property purchased will be annexed into the agreement, and that if the new property is next to residential property the property will be buffered according to the Applicable Rules, or City Code that is enforced when the agreement is made effective.
The forth difference in the Tract agreement is the section on Easement Assistance. This section states that Tract is responsible for working with property owners to obtain easements, but if they are unable to, they can request the city to use eminent domain authority to obtain the easements. It should be noted that it says the city is not obligated to use eminent domain. It also states that the City will cooperate with the Power company and Tract to support the acquisition of easements.
The agreement also touts sewer, water, and roadway improvements. But it should also be noted that these improvements are required for Tract to complete the infrastructure to be able to utilize the property for the purpose that they are proposing using if for. The property needs
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.