Valar Atomics Proposes 456 Nuclear Reactors on Utah Federal Land for Data Centers

Each reactor unit would generate 25 MW, and the modular layout would let Valar build the site in stages as computing demand grows, according to the report. Valar also wants roughly 650 additional acres controlled by Utah, which would push the total footprint above 9,650 acres. The company earlier considered a 10,200-acre parcel near Green River before dropping that location and filing the current request near Price.

At 9.6 GW, the project would produce about 2.4 times the 4 GW that Utah generates on average today, TechRadar reported. At a U.S. household average of 900 to 1,000 kWh per month, 9.6 GW running continuously would supply about 7 to 7.8 million homes. Utah has about 1.3 million homes, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, so the campus could power Utah homes roughly 5.4 to 6 times over, but the power is not for homes.

The published figures also contain a discrepancy: 456 reactors at 25 MW each would total 11.4 GW rather than 9.6 GW. TechRadar reported that the 1.8 GW difference is left unexplained in the figures.

Project Beehive is designed primarily for data centers because of their large power demands, the report said. Valar also expects the reactors to deliver industrial heat to manufacturing plants and similar operations alongside electricity for computing facilities. The company describes the campus as grid-independent, meaning it would generate its own electricity rather than draw from the power grid. The reactor design relies on helium coolant, graphite and TRISO fuel, and Valar plans fuel manufacturing plus storage for nuclear waste on the same grounds.

Major work cannot begin until the Bureau of Land Management, an Interior Department bureau, finishes checking that the application is complete and conducts the review required under the National Environmental Policy Act. Under NEPA, the agency studies environmental effects and may invite public participation, giving opponents and supporters a formal route to speak on the project. The proposal plans for non-nuclear work to start in late 2026, reactor operations in 2028, and completion of the entire campus in 2032. Groups in the area have raised concerns about the campus's size and location, as well as proposed waste storage and industrial activity on public land.

Valar has raised $1 billion in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital and secured a further $200 million in credit. That $1 billion backs Valar as a company and is not the cost of building Project Beehive, which Valar has not disclosed. With approval on land allocation and ecological impact still pending, there is no certainty that Project Beehive will follow its proposed timeline or that it will be built at all.