Kevin O'Leary's Utah Data Center Gets Approved as Hundreds Protest Environmental Impact

Shark Tank Investor's Massive Data Center Project in Utah Moves Forward

Box Elder County commissioners voted unanimously on Monday to advance Kevin O'Leary's controversial AI data center proposal, igniting fierce local backlash from hundreds of residents who packed a gym to protest the decision 1

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. The massive data center project in Utah, backed by O'Leary Digital—the infrastructure arm of O'Leary Ventures—would span 40,000 acres of rural land near the Great Salt Lake, making it more than twice the size of Manhattan 1

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. The Shark Tank star's ambitious development, dubbed both "Stratos" and "Wonder Valley," represents a $100 billion investment in cloud computing infrastructure that O'Leary frames as essential for national security 2

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Energy Consumption Raises Alarm in Box Elder County

The facility is expected to generate and consume up to 9 gigawatts of power at full buildout—roughly double the amount of electricity the entire state of Utah currently uses 1

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. Military Installation Development Authority executive director Paul Morris confirmed the project's power supply would be entirely generated by natural gas, though he noted the additional capacity could serve as backup energy for the state 4

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. Plans include a large-scale energy generation plant with direct access to the Ruby Pipeline for natural gas, and the campus would generate all its own power on-site 1

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. One Utah State University physicist estimated the hyperscale AI data centers could raise the state's greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 50% 5

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Local Backlash Erupts Over Environmental Concerns

The meeting became so heated that commissioners walked out and resumed proceedings virtually, projecting the remainder back into the room as protesters chanted "shame, shame, shame" 1

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. Residents worry the facility's water consumption could further drain the already shrinking Great Salt Lake, creating toxic dust that harms surrounding communities 2

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. Environmental advocate Caroline Gleich called for transparency: "Let's do an environmental impact study and let's publish it transparently. Let's give the community some time to review them and give experts some time to review them" 2

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. A group of Box Elder voters applied this week to add a referendum to the November ballot to overturn the approval, requiring more than 5,000 signatures 2

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O'Leary Dismisses Opposition as Manufactured

Kevin O'Leary responded to criticism by claiming, without evidence, that much of the opposition was "paid" and that over 90% of protesters "are actually not people that live in Utah or Box Elder County. They're being bussed in" 1

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. He also dismissed some social media backlash as AI-generated, calling it "kind of hypocritical" 4

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. O'Leary defended the project's sustainability credentials, citing alternative cooling systems and renewable energy options, stating "sustainability is at the heart of what we do" 4

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. The fallout became so intense that Commissioner Lee Perry said police officers were stationed outside commissioners' homes, telling ABC4: "Today I have policemen parked in front of my house" 5

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AI Boom Drives Competition and Fast-Track Approvals

O'Leary framed the project as critical to competing with China in the AI race, arguing that China can build 10 times the compute power of the U.S. due to fewer permitting problems 3

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. "We can't let the Chinese beat us," he told CNN, emphasizing that Utah's Military Installation Development Authority designation could accelerate permitting 3

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. State officials acknowledged they aggressively fast-tracked the proposal to compete with rival states, with MIDA executive director Paul Morris admitting: "It's a competition. That's also why we've been rushing it so fast" 5

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. The project received lucrative incentives, including a sharply reduced energy tax rate of 0.5%—far below the 6% rate MIDA was authorized to charge 5

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What This Means for AI Infrastructure Development

Kirk Offel, CEO of Overwatch Mission Critical, told The Post that the 9-gigawatt scale would have been unimaginable just years ago but reflects how the AI boom is changing infrastructure demands: "We are no longer building data centers, we are building industrial infrastructure for intelligence" 5

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. The Utah project joins a growing list of companies building their own power generation instead of waiting for utility connections, which can take several years according to The Center for Strategic and International Studies 3

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. O'Leary promises the development will create 10,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent positions 2

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. The project is expected to be built in phases and overseen by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority, with the campus spanning 40,000 acres of private land and 1,200 acres of military and state-owned property 3

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. County commissioners negotiated additional "guardrail provisions" including noise limits and agreements allowing agricultural uses in and around the area 1

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. Natural gas is being used "as a bridge, not because it's perfect, but because it's available, scalable, and dispatchable right now," Offel noted, though he acknowledged the enormous environmental concerns and local grid strain the proposal raises 5

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