Kevin O’Leary Responds To Backlash Over Proposed 10,000-Acre Utah AI Data Center

Kevin O’Leary addressed backlash over a proposed 10,000-acre Utah data center project, refuting claims of excessive water use and saying the first phase is projected to cost $15 billion.

“Kevin O’Leary came to Utah with a pitch: He gets 40,000 acres of their land, and they get an ugly, energy-guzzling data center that creates minimal long-term jobs”

Gizmodo

O’Leary said, "We're building our own power plant, off the Rose pipeline, giving back power to the people in Utah," and he argued the self-generated power would prevent negative impacts on existing utility rates.

Gizmodo

On water concerns tied to the Great Salt Lake, O’Leary dismissed the claims as false and said the project is not touching the Great Salt Lake.

He also estimated the project will create approximately 4,000 jobs during construction and an additional 2,000 highly skilled jobs for ongoing operations.

The project is described as phased, with the first phase involving approximately 1.5 gigawatts of compute capacity, and O’Leary said the facility’s environmental footprint is designed to be minimal.

Opponents and local residents have challenged the Stratos Project, which Gizmodo says would be built as two separate 20,000-acre plots in Hansel Valley and Locomotive Valley in Box Elder County.

Gizmodo reports the project is expected to consume nine gigawatts of electricity at maximum capacity and to use 619 million gallons of water, citing a Deseret News report.

NBC News

O’Leary has argued the backlash is driven by foreign interference, and Gizmodo says he claimed "nefarious accounts out of the country" were driving the backlash.

Gizmodo also says O’Leary accused two anti-data center groups of being Chinese plants and claimed on Fox News that his "guys" did a "deep dig into the IP addresses" of accounts criticizing his project.

A poll commissioned by Deseret News, as described by Gizmodo, found 53% of the public opposed the project and about 7 in 10 respondents said the claimed economic benefits do not outweigh the costs and environmental concerns.

Utah state officials launched a new “Transparent Utah” dashboard focused on the state’s Military Installation Development Authority, with the Utah state auditor’s office saying it compiles nearly two decades of public records and financial data.

“Kevin O'Leary addresses backlash over a massive Utah data center, refuting claims of excessive water use and highlighting job creation and clean energy plans”

StartupHub.ai

The dashboard is designed to help residents understand “what it is, what it does, what authority it has, and how that authority has changed over time,” the auditor’s office said in a news release.

The Washington Examiner reports the Stratos project proposal would encompass roughly 40,000 acres of privately owned land divided into three separate sites, and it says MIDA estimates the broader project could create more than 2,000 jobs in northern Utah.

The Intercept quotes Jim Walsh, the policy director of Food and Water Watch, saying, “We’re not safe if we don’t have clean air and clean water to drink and breathe.”

Walsh also argues, “Our entire economy functions on access to water,” as the debate centers on water usage, energy consumption, and the long-term environmental impact of large-scale data centers in Utah’s arid climate.