• Early plans and rising anxiety
• Political pressure intensifies
• O’Leary scales back
• Ongoing skepticism

Kevin O’Leary Halves Massive Utah Data Center Project Amid Protests A proposed Utah data center once envisioned as nearly three times the size of Manhattan has been sharply downsized after an intense political and grassroots backlash over water, power, and environmental risks.

§Early plans and rising anxiety

Venture capitalist and “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary’s Stratos project was initially mapped across about 40,000 acres in Box Elder County, with projected power needs of 7.5 to 9 gigawatts, making it one of the largest data center developments in the US. Residents and environmental advocates quickly mobilized, warning that the project could drain local water supplies, raise electricity bills, and threaten air quality, wildlife, and land near the vulnerable Great Salt Lake.

Locals paid fees to formally object to transferring 1,900 acre-feet of water from a ranch to the data center, signaling a willingness to spend money to defend regional water resources.

§Political pressure intensifies

As opposition mounted, Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams sent O’Leary a demand letter urging him to slash the project’s scope by 75 percent and commit to water-saving technology and diverting excess water to the Great Salt Lake. Adams later said that “no approvals or permits have been applied for, let alone issued,” emphasizing that any version of the project would face extensive permitting and environmental review.

§O’Leary scales back

Within days, O’Leary relented. In a letter to Adams, he agreed to remove 19,430 acres “in and around the Locomotive Springs area,” plus another 620 acres near a highway, and to preserve most remaining land as open space. The project footprint falls to about 20,000 acres, with roughly a quarter of the original area left for development.

O’Leary has publicly acknowledged missteps, saying his team “really screwed it up” by assuming “people would be excited” about the investment and by not involving the public earlier. He told attendees at an AI gala that he had “no choice” but to agree to the cutbacks.

§Ongoing skepticism

Adams called the concessions “a positive step forward,” but stressed that binding commitments and environmental safeguards must still be secured. Some residents remain wary, describing the scaled-back plan as “performance art” and questioning whether a project still larger than Manhattan can ever be compatible with Utah’s limited water and energy resources.

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