Operation Gigawatt Summit Sponsors Gave $407K to Cox, Utah GOP Leaders

At least nine sponsors of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s Operation Gigawatt Summit in Park City have also poured more than $400,000 into the campaign accounts and PACs of Cox and other top Utah Republicans since 2022, including three separate $50,000 checks to Cox from the summit’s top-billed sponsor.

The summit, scheduled for Friday in Park City, is built around Cox’s signature energy initiative, which aims to double Utah's electrical generating capacity to roughly 20 gigawatts by 2035. Speakers include federal agency leaders, Trump administration officials, members of Utah's congressional delegation, and energy industry executives.

Operation Gigawatt, if it succeeds, would accelerate permitting, expand transmission infrastructure, and reshape the regulatory landscape for energy production in Utah. The summit’s sponsors include nuclear operators, renewable energy developers, natural gas companies, and technology firms, all of whom stand to gain from the rapid growth energy agenda the event will advance.

Utah Political Watch analyzed campaign finance disclosures for Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, all of whom are scheduled to speak, along with four political action committees they control: the Adams Leadership PAC, the House Speaker's Leadership PAC, the Utah House Republican Election Committee, and the Utah Republican Senate Campaign Committee. Sponsors of the summit have donated more than $407,000 to those committees and campaigns since 2023. Cox Alone took in $226,041 of that.

The largest single donor to Cox among summit sponsors is Torus, a Lehi-based battery and energy storage company. Torus cut Cox three $50,000 checks—in 2022, 2024, and 2025. Torus is one of two top-billed "Executive Partner" sponsors of Friday's event, and founder and CEO Nate Walkingshaw is slated to speak during a morning session.

EnergySolutions, the nuclear waste disposal company, has given the most among sponsors, nearly $175,000 to all seven committees since 2023.

Just six weeks before Cox publicly launched Operation Gigawatt, Energy Solutions dropped $50,000 into the Utah Republican Senate Campaign Committee and another $50,000 into the Utah House Republican Election Committee on the same day. The company’s total giving since 2023 breaks down as follows.

$70,750 to the Utah Republican Senate Campaign Committee, including the $50,000 Sept. 6 check
$68,500 to the Utah House Republican Campaign Committee, including the $50,000 Sept. 6 check
$15,000 to the House speaker’s leadership PAC
$2,000 to the Adams Leadership PAC.
Direct contributions of $7,500 to Cox, $7,000 to Adams, and $5,700 to Schultz

EnergySolutions Chief Projects Officer Jeff Richardson is a featured speaker at Friday’s summit.

Chevron has contributed $32,750 since 2023, including $27,500 directly to Cox’s campaign. The oil giant has donated to Cox every year since 2020.

PacifiCorp isn't on the summit's sponsor list, but the company's president, Dick Garlish, is listed as one of the event's speakers. The company’s president, Dick Garlish, is one of the event’s speakers. PacifiCorp has given $201,500 to Cox and the six other Republican campaign accounts since 2022, making it the second-largest energy donor in Utah Political Watch’s analysis.

Cox has received $62,500 of that directly in five donations ranging from $10,000 to $15,000. The company also donated $7,500 to Adams and $2,000 to Schultz.
The Utah House Republican Election Committee received nine donations totaling $53,500.
PacifiCorp donated $42,500 to the Utah Republican Senate Campaign Committee.
The company made five donations totaling $18,500 to the House Speaker's Leadership PAC and $15,000 to the Adams Leadership PAC.