- Utah cut permitting times from 240 days to 40 days to attract faster business investment.
- The state has high birth rates, which Cox believes will ensure a future workforce for companies in 20-30 years.
- Utah's Operation Gigawatt aims to double energy production by 2034 using domestic geothermal, nuclear and critical minerals.
On Tuesday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox presented a case for international energy developers to bring AI, energy and critical minerals production to the state.
“In too many places, we stopped building,” said Cox, “But we’re back baby, and we’re excited for your investments.”
In recent years, Utah has moved forward on various energy and infrastructure projects, including a large AI data center in Millard County and a proposed 40,000-acre data center in Box Elder County.
Cox was invited to speak on a panel at the Select USA Investment Summit, a conference aimed at encouraging international investment in the U.S., held in National Harbor, Maryland.
Jarrod Agen, the executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, focused his questions on why each participating governor believed their state was the best place for investment.
Cox was joined in his panel by Govs. Matt Meyer (Delaware), Tate Reeves (Mississippi) as well as Guam territorial Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.
Why does Cox believe Utah is the best state for investment?
Cox referenced a U.S. News report ranking Utah as the best overall state for three years in a row.
“I don’t expect all of you to come to Utah, just the smart ones,” he joked.
The reason Utah ranks so highly, Cox believes, is the state’s commitment to building and innovating. He listed speed, people and scenery as natural pulls for businesses looking to expand.
“The best incentive in the world is speed ... slowing things down does not make things safer in our country. It doesn’t make things better. All it does is make things more expensive,” he said.
Since taking office, Cox has reduced the time it takes for companies to acquire oil, gas and mineral permits. Before his term, permitting took roughly 240 days. Now, permits can be ready in 40.
Then Cox referenced Utah’s population. Utah has some of the best, most educated people on Earth, and “in Utah, we’re really good at having kids,” he said.
The National Vital Statistics Reports, reported in 2025 that Utah’s birth rate is among the top in the U.S. There are 59.6 births per 1,000 women in Utah, while the national average falls closer to 54.5 births per 1,000 women.
Cox continued, “You’re going to need a workforce in the next 20 to 30 years and we’re going to have that workforce for you.”
In addition to a solid work force, Utah’s natural beauty attracts people to the state, Cox said. “You don’t want to be doing business 24 hours a day. When you clock out, you want to be 10 minutes away from the best ski-slopes in the world.”
How does Utah fit into the conversation of energy, AI and critical minerals?
Speaking directly to Cox at the end of the panel, Agen asked how AI, critical minerals and nuclear energy are all coming together in the state of Utah.
Cox referenced Operation Gigawatt, an effort to double energy production in the state by 2034.
The governor also spoke about an investment from the Texas-based geothermal company, Fervo Energy. Fervo announced a $462 million investment in March for a geothermal station in Beaver County.
“We have signed dozens of MOUs (memorandum of understanding) with nuclear companies across the country and across the world,” Cox continued.
Cox said the U.S. outsourcing critical mineral production to “people that hate us” was a mistake.
Half of those minerals exist in Utah, and “we need investment so that we can start producing those minerals right here,” he said.
Economic production is only a means to an end, Cox said. The true ends are family, relationships and the highest quality of living. Companies that invest in Utah will have that high quality of life, he said.