The People of Utah vs. Kevin O’Leary
Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary announced plans for a 40,000-acre, 9-gigawatt data center project north of the Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County, Utah, and publicly promoted it as a national-security imperative. Rapid approvals and aggressive promotion collided with local residents’ concerns over water, air, permitting and secrecy, producing mass protests, political fallout and litigation that has stalled the project.
Why It Matters
The episode illustrates how the rush to build massive AI data centers — driven by speed, tax incentives and national-security rhetoric — can bypass local processes, provoke broad public backlash, and reshape state and local politics. It also highlights the reputational risk for developers and media when accusations about protestors’ motives are broadcast without evidence.
Key Facts
- Project name: Stratos (also publicized by O’Leary as Wonder Valley)
- Promoted site size: 40,000 acres north of Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County, Utah
- Planned on-site power: 9 gigawatts of gas-fired generation (developers later pared first phase to 1 GW)
- Public announcement by O’Leary on Fox: May 11 (he later issued a clarification denying evidence of Chinese funding for named critics)
- Entities sued for defamation: Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabrielle Finlayson, Joshua Kanter sued O’Leary and Fox News
Kevin O’Leary and partners unveiled plans this year for an enormous AI-focused compute campus in rural Box Elder County, Utah, describing a 40,000-acre site powered by a dedicated 9-gigawatt gas plant. O’Leary publicly promoted the project as both the world’s largest data center and a national-security priority in a months-long publicity campaign that included meetings at the Utah Statehouse and appearances on national television. The project moved quickly through state development channels via the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). County commissioners say they were formally briefed only weeks before votes were scheduled; MIDA executives and developers urged rapid consent, warning financing would fall apart if the county delayed. Commissioners ultimately approved a MIDA project-area consent in a contentious meeting after mass public turnout and an episode in which the vote was recessed and then resumed from a back room. Local residents and activists rallied against the plan over concerns about water use, heat, air pollution, noise, tax incentives and a lack of public notice. Organizers formed the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (BEAR) and sought a referendum; the county rejected the referendum petition and litigation followed. The controversy rapidly reverberated through Utah politics: several state officials publicly distanced themselves, MIDA’s executive director retired, the MIDA chair and two county commissioners lost primary elections, and lawmakers opened hearings on data-center regulation. Public relations problems compounded the developers’ trouble. O’Leary repeatedly suggested on television that critics were funded or directed by Chinese actors; Fox later apologized for repeating some of those claims, and O’Leary issued a clarification saying he had no evidence. Defamation suits were filed against O’Leary and Fox News by named critics, and developers have not announced tenants or sold the land. By late September MIDA had not signed the interlocal agreement and work on Stratos was paused amid ongoing litigation and heightened political scrutiny.
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Original source: The Verge