‘Golden Spike of the internet’: Why AI data centers are coming to Delta

DELTA, Utah (ABC4) — A new data center project, touted to be the largest in the country, has been bought out by a Utah-based energy company. The reason they’re coming to rural Utah may surprise you.

Creekstone Energy announced Thursday it had acquired “key infrastructure assets” from Fibernet Mercury Delta, which recently received approval to build a massive data center in rural Millard County.

In June 2025, the Millard County Commission approved a rezone of property near 4500 South and Highway 50 in Delta that welcomed a data center design for artificial intelligence. The center would be the nation’s largest at over 1,100 acres.

“We’re building a future where intelligence is manufactured with unprecedented speed and scale — by uniting a power plant and a supercomputer into one,” Creekstone Energy CEO Buford Ray Conley said. “This is the base layer of AI — the foundational infrastructure that will determine who wins the AI race.”

The proposed center would house high-density data banks that can be leased to major tech corporations for several uses, including artificial intelligence.

Conley says the project is about more than business. “It’s national security.”

Creekstone says Millard County offers a rare combination of gigawatt-scale energy resources and “world-class fiber connectivity.” Over 20 long-haul fiber internet routes intersect in Millard County, enabling easy global connectivity.

Millard County is also home to the 1.8-gigawatt Intermountain Power Project (IPP). The high amount of power generation is an added benefit for companies to build large data centers that require massive amounts of energy to function.

Furthermore, a staggering 30,000 acres of what Creekstone calls “solar-ready land” is open near the proposed site.

According to a spokesperson with Creekstone Energy, Blue Sky AI — an artificial intelligence program that helps manage businesses — has already signed on to occupy half of one data hall after construction concludes. Creekstone anticipates 26 data halls in total.

Beyond the IPP, Creekstone hopes to build energy infrastructure in the area, including geothermal, wind, and nuclear sources.

The company claims it will be “net water-positive,” meaning they won’t take from the county’s water supply but generate 100 acre-feet of new water per 100 megawatts annually. Creekstone has not detailed how that process would take place.

“It’s more efficient, more sustainable, and better for the community,” Creekstone said.