The Utah Inland Port Authority participated in a panel discussion at the One Utah Summit in Cedar City, Utah. The session brought together energy executives, county officials, and state leadership to address strategic infrastructure investment, local resource stewardship, and economic diversification across rural Utah.
The breakout session featured insights from Ray Conley, senior vice president and CEO of Creekstone Energy; Sarah Jewett, chief operating officer at Fervo Energy; Adam Richins, planner and building official for Millard County; and Ben Hart, executive director of the Utah Inland Port Authority. The panel focused on establishing practical frameworks for evaluating capital-intensive infrastructure proposals while maintaining transparent public dialogue.
“Statutorily, UIPA is built to partner directly with local communities, cities, counties and landowners,” said Ben Hart, UIPA executive director. “We always put the community first. None of what we do really matters if we cannot keep kids in rural Utah. If we are not creating good jobs for our citizens, then our policy is missing the mark.”
Panelists emphasized that high-impact development requires early, bottom-up public engagement. Conley outlined Creekstone Energy’s commitment to hiring regional engineers, sourcing local construction materials such as gravel, and addressing constituent inquiries early. Richins noted that Millard County prioritizes public transparency over administrative speed, holding additional public hearings beyond statutory minimums to give residents plenty of opportunities to review project plans. Addressing clean energy development at Fervo Energy’s Cape Station in Beaver County, Jewett stressed the necessity of long-term developer accountability and fulfilling every commitment made to local officials.
The discussion placed a deliberate focus on digital infrastructure and the heightened public scrutiny surrounding data center proposals in rural Utah. Addressing these concerns directly, Hart outlined UIPA’s cautious, measured stance on data center recruitment.
“Our approach right now with data centers is to take it slow,” Hart explained. “Our reputation as an organization and our relationship with local communities are far more important to us than trying to land the next big data center. We would much rather miss out on a project than force through a development that creates significant resource issues or community strain.”
Hart noted that state and local leaders must evaluate proposals with rigorous, fact-based analysis. Panelists highlighted that modern Western data centers deploy closed-loop, waterless cooling systems to protect local groundwater tables.
At its core, UIPA’s mission centers on empowering local communities to guide their own economic futures. By pairing strategic infrastructure support with community-led priorities, transparent public oversight and strict environmental standards, UIPA works alongside local civic leaders to ensure growth respects rural values, preserves local resources and creates lasting opportunities for families across Utah.
Published: 08/11/26
Author: Hadden Wiese