In May 2018, local taxing bodies approved tax breaks for a data center whose owner was listed only as "Stadion, LLC," a company created for the negotiation. It was Facebook. Eight years and several expansions later, the campus uses about 2.9% of Utah's electricity, a 2018 agreement keeps its monthly water use confidential, and the tax breaks run for decades. This part covers how the campus got here. Part 2 covers the gas plant planned for its expansion.
Meta has run a large data center in Eagle Mountain, in Utah County, since 2021. The deal that brought it there was negotiated in 2018 under the name "Stadion, LLC." Local taxing bodies approved large property tax breaks before the public knew the company was Facebook.
This is Part 1. It covers the 2018 deal, the tax breaks, the jobs, the water rules and how much power and water the campus used in 2024. Part 2 covers the natural gas plant planned to power the campus's expansion.
Why it matters outside Eagle Mountain: the same tax tools, and the same kind of confidential water deal, are available to any city. Data centers are now proposed across Utah, including in northern Utah.
How it was made: from public records and published news reports only. No one was asked for comment. Quotes are checked against the original articles, and each one is cited.
IN PLAIN WORDSTap any card to see what the word means.
IN PLAIN WORDSIn 2018, three local governments voted on big tax breaks for a data center. The company was listed as "Stadion, LLC." The public, and some of the people voting, didn't know it was Facebook. Each vote happened in a public meeting.
The name. Data Center Dynamics reported (May 22, 2018) that city meeting records referred to the company as "Stadion, LLC," "a company created purely for this negotiation process." Stadion was based in Delaware and registered in Utah as a foreign (out-of-state) LLC.
The school board's timeline. Alpine School Board members received a 50-plus-page document on Friday, May 11, 2018, with a vote hoped for the next Tuesday. The vote was delayed a week. On May 23 the board approved the deal 6–1, with member Wendy Hart voting no (Deseret News, May 23, 2018).
The cap. The board tried to limit the real property tax break to $40 million per phase and $120 million total over 30 years. The company's counterproposal, relayed through district administrators, raised that to $150 million over 35 years. The board accepted it (Deseret News).
Utah County. The County Commission approved the deal on May 22, 2018, with a 40-year limit and no dollar cap. The terms: 100% of taxes on the company's personal property (equipment) suspended and an 80% break on real property, about $150 million for the first two-building phase, with taxes waived up to 20 years per phase (Deseret News, May 22, 2018).
"To make a decision with this potentiality, without knowing who this organization is, that's really hard for me to take on faith. But we weren't elected to trust you. We were elected to listen, to collaborate and to partner."
Wendy Hart, Alpine School Board (Data Center Dynamics, May 22, 2018)
"I have serious concerns about the process that has gone on."
Scott Carlson, Alpine School Board, who voted yes (Deseret News, May 23, 2018)
"There's great fear amongst those on the promoting team that if we approve the motion as stated, that the company will not come."
Carlson, describing messages during the debate (Deseret News, May 23, 2018)
In 2016, Facebook looked at West Jordan. Salt Lake County officials worried about "the size of the estimated $250 million, 20-year tax incentive and the nearly 5 million gallons of water per day that would be required." Mayor Ben McAdams said, "I firmly believe this was not the right opportunity and not a good deal for taxpayers." The Utah Board of Education also did not support it. Facebook chose Los Lunas, New Mexico (Deseret News, Sept. 14, 2016).
Each taxing entity voted in a public meeting The company was not named until after the votesIN PLAIN WORDSBesides the gas plant, Meta buys power from Rocky Mountain Power, the regular power company. It also gets large property tax breaks from the city, county and schools.
Eagle Mountain has no city power company; Rocky Mountain Power serves the city. In 2016 the Public Service Commission approved a "Renewable Energy Service Contract" between Rocky Mountain Power and Facebook under Schedule 34, Rocky Mountain Power's price plan for large customers who want renewable supply (Docket 16-035-27, approved Aug. 29, 2016). Facebook pays rates different from the standard large-business rate (Schedule 9); the details are confidential. The contract includes terms "to ensure customers are not adversely impacted." The PSC accepted the latest compliance report (a yearly check that the deal follows the rules) Sept. 24, 2025; the next is due June 30, 2027.
Renewable projects tied to Meta include Faraday Solar in Eagle Mountain (685.3 MW) and an earlier 120 MW Rocky Mountain Power solar project built for Facebook. Meta says it has added 1.7 GW of renewables and 600 MWh of batteries in Utah.
Other customers protected by contract terms| Tax break | Terms | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax, 2018 package | 100% off personal property (servers, equipment) and 80% off real property, for 40 years, from four of five taxing entities | Deseret News, 2021 and 2022 |
| Alpine School District | Capped its share at $150 million over 35 years. The board first proposed $40 million per phase and $120 million total over 30 years; the higher cap was the company's counterproposal. | Deseret News, May 23, 2018 |
| Estimated value | About $150 million for Phase 1 over 20 years; up to $750 million if all five phases are built (city-commissioned study) | Deseret News |
| Sweetwater #4 CRA, 2026 | $778,540,678 in property tax increment requested for the expansion area | Eagle Mountain RDA notice, Jan. 6, 2026 |
| State sales tax exemption | S.B. 114 (2020, Sen. Kirk Cullimore, Rep. Mike Schultz) exempts qualifying data center equipment purchases from sales tax | le.utah.gov |
| The gas plant | No payment in lieu of taxes in the draft; the city agrees not to support new taxes on the plant or the data center industry for 40 years | Draft development agreement |
Dollar figures from public documents. They measure different things and should not be added together.
IN PLAIN WORDSCompanies pay some fees and give some gifts. Most are ordinary. A few things here are unusual, like a payment amount left blank.
| Item | Amount or terms | Normal? |
|---|---|---|
| Walden Park astronomy park (Meta) | $450,000 | Normal A voluntary goodwill gift. |
| School land (Meta) | $600,000 | Normal Helpful, and small next to the school revenue given up. |
| Lake Mountain Education Foundation (Meta) | $1.5 million plus $50,000 a year | Normal Voluntary, can change. |
| "Local infrastructure improvements" (Meta) | "$50+ million" | Normal, not a gift Roads and utilities serving its own campus; the 2018 deal required $100–150 million in infrastructure as a condition. |
| Building permit, inspection, plan-check fees (Williams) | Charged as usual | Normal |
| Paying for its own water, sewer, street upgrades (Williams) | Company pays | Normal Good for residents. |
| Impact fees (Williams) | "Governed by the Stadion Agreement" | Normal to have, unusual not to publish The amounts are in an agreement not found publicly. |
| One-time payment to the city (Williams) | "$______," non-refundable | Not normal to leave blank Still blank in the version the Planning Commission voted on. |
| City 6% energy tax | Applies to electricity users citywide | Normal Whether it reaches power sold privately to Meta is not stated. |
| Payment in lieu of taxes (Williams) | None in the draft | Worth noting Paired with a 40-year promise not to back new taxes on the plant or the data center industry. |
The two columns measure different things and are not meant to be added up.
IN PLAIN WORDSThe data center is huge but employs few people once built. This section compares the jobs to the size and the tax breaks.
All figures come from public sources. The per-job numbers are simple division by Meta's stated 300 permanent jobs.
Meta: $3 billion+, 300+ jobs. QTS: $6 billion, about 100 jobs. Tyson Foods plant: $300 million, 723 jobs (it closed five years into a ten-year incentive agreement).
| Tax break | Total | Per permanent job | Per job, per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 property tax break | $150 million / 20 yrs | $500,000 | $25,000 |
| All five phases (city estimate) | $750 million / 40 yrs | $2.5 million | $62,500 |
| Sweetwater #4 increment request | $778.5 million | $2.6 million | — |
The three figures overlap and should not be added. Part of any CRA increment goes to housing and infrastructure by law, not to the company.
Jobs are not the only return. Former Mayor Tom Westmoreland said the land brought in "$35 annually" in taxes before Meta, and "now it brings in millions even with that tax increment." Mayor Jared Gray told the Salt Lake Tribune data centers are "literally what funds our general fund." Meta still pays 20% of its real property tax and the city's 6% energy tax, and funds voluntary community projects. In 2024, by Meta's own figures, the campus used more than 1 million megawatt-hours of electricity and 35 million gallons of water.
Steady revenue from a single property Few permanent jobs for the size and the breaksIN PLAIN WORDSA new state law makes new data centers report their water use publicly. Meta's older buildings are not covered, and a 2018 city deal keeps their water use confidential.
The 2018 city deal: the Salt Lake Tribune reported Eagle Mountain agreed to keep Meta's monthly water use confidential and to alert Meta when anyone requests it.
H.B. 76 (2026), Utah Code 73-5-8.3: a "new large data center," one that withdraws (takes from wells, rivers or the city system) 75 acre-feet a year or more (about 24 million gallons) and "begins operations on or after July 1, 2026," must report its water use to the Division of Water Rights before construction and every year. The state must publish each center's withdrawals by Sept. 1, "and not in the aggregate." Conservation and wastewater details can be kept confidential. Fines run up to $100 a day after notice.
What that means here: Meta's original buildings, operating since 2021, are not covered. New expansion buildings that start operating after July 1, 2026 would be. The first public numbers would appear around Sept. 1, 2027.
New buildings: per-facility public reporting Existing buildings: still under the 2018 confidentiality dealIN PLAIN WORDSIn 2024 Meta says its Eagle Mountain campus used more than 1 million megawatt-hours of electricity and 35 million gallons of water. The electricity is a lot: about what 108,000 Utah homes use. The water is small for a place this size. The catch is that both numbers come from Meta, and no one checks them.
The 2024 figures are Meta's own, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune (Jan. 14, 2026). The comparisons use U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Utah Division of Water Resources figures. The math is simple division, shown on each card.
One campus: about 1 million megawatt-hours. Everyone else in Utah (homes, businesses, factories): about 33.7 million.
What the whole campus drew on average in 2024, next to the most the new plant is filed to make. The plant is for the expansion, so this shows scale, not a plan to replace grid power.
Lower is better. Meta's 2024 figure is its own and covers the whole campus; the industry average counts computer power only, so treat this as a rough comparison.
The numbers themselves are neutral. They are measurements, not choices.
On the good side: for a campus this size, the water use is low. Meta's number per unit of power is far below the commonly cited industry average.
On the other side:
IN PLAIN WORDSOther data center companies have bought land next to Meta. In 2026 the city raised its own property tax, and a month later Meta announced another expansion. These are separate decisions, shown together because they all affect what Eagle Mountain residents pay and get.
| What | The record | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bought about 300 acres in Eagle Mountain in 2021 for a possible data center. | Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 4, 2021 | |
| QTS | $6 billion campus, about 100 permanent jobs. In February 2026 it asked to rezone eight more parcels, 524 acres. The city said QTS "prefers to get power from the grid and uses on-site generation as a last resort." | Utah News Dispatch, April 17, 2026; Planning Commission minutes, Feb. 10, 2026 |
| City property tax, 2026 | Proposed as a 220.88% increase and first approved at 183%. After residents started a referendum, the council repealed it and adopted a 69.81% increase (about $99 a year on a median home) to pay for a Utah County Sheriff's Office contract. A second referendum, against the 69.81% increase (Resolution R-62-2026), was found legally referable on Sept. 14, 2026. Referendum Docket case file → | Daily Herald, Aug. 7 and Aug. 20, 2026; KSL; this site's Referendum Docket |
| Where city property tax goes | Eagle Mountain's audited financial statements show its Redevelopment Agency Fund taking a growing amount of property tax: $10.46 million in FY2024 and $15.03 million in FY2025, equal to about 34% and 40% of all city tax revenue (property, sales and franchise tax combined; corrected Oct. 1, 2026). Two Sweetwater project areas, where the data centers sit, accounted for over 93% of the increment captured in tax year 2023 (Utah County Auditor). The Sweetwater #4 CRA plan for Meta's expansion would be a new area on top of those. Finance history case file → | Eagle Mountain ACFRs, FY2024–FY2025; Utah County Auditor, 2023 Report 700; via this site's Referendum Docket |
| Meta, Sept. 14, 2026 | New expansion; stated investment past $3 billion; 1.7 GW of clean and renewable energy and 600 MWh of batteries added in Utah; school and park donations. | Meta announcement |
| H.B. 507 (2026) | New limits on local incentives for the largest data centers. The H.B. 507 case file covers when those limits start and how they apply to projects like this one. | le.utah.gov; Bill Tracker |
Mayor Jared Gray told the Salt Lake Tribune that data centers are "literally what funds our general fund." Former Mayor Tom Westmoreland said the land brought in "$35 annually" in taxes before Meta and "now it brings in millions even with that tax increment."
IN PLAIN WORDSThe main dates, oldest first. Red dots are the big moments.
Salt Lake County and the state school board don't support the incentive; Facebook picks Los Lunas, New Mexico.
For a company named only as "Stadion, LLC."
Utah County with a 40-year limit; Alpine School Board 6–1 with a $150 million, 35-year cap.
The city agrees to keep monthly water use confidential and alert Meta to records requests (reported Jan. 2026).
Google's 300 acres reported Oct. 4, 2021.
Deseret News.
$778.5 million in tax increment requested for the expansion area.
Salt Lake Tribune; Meta's 2024 figures: 1 million+ MWh and 35 million gallons.
New data centers must report water use; the state publishes it per facility.
183% approved, then repealed; 69.81% adopted.
Investment past $3 billion. The gas plant planned for the expansion is covered in Part 2.
Bottom line: each step followed a public process: meetings, votes, posted notices. What the records show is timing. The public learned who the company was, what the water deal said and how much power the campus uses only after the decisions were made, and mostly through news reports.