Utah close to deal with 'Shark Tank' star on massive data center project

Investment guru Kevin O’Leary, known from "Shark Tank," presented plans for a sprawling 40,000-acre data center development, the Stratos Project, to Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). The project, spearheaded by O’Leary Digital, is planned for an unincorporated area of western Box Elder County and is slated to include state-of-the-art energy generation, hyperscale data centers, advanced manufacturing, housing, and commercial facilities. At full buildout, the Utah site could generate roughly 7.5 gigawatts of power, significantly exceeding the state’s current annual consumption of about 4 gigawatts. Utah leaders, including Governor Spencer Cox, lauded the project for its potential to boost the economy, create thousands of jobs, and advance AI compute capabilities. Following O'Leary's presentation, MIDA unanimously passed several resolutions, including a development proposal outlining substantial tax breaks for the project. These incentives include 100% personal property tax relief on the data center portion and an 80% rebate on real property tax, as well as a reduction in energy use tax from 6% to 0.5%. However, these agreements require final approval from the Box Elder County Commission, which is expected to vote soon. The development faces significant challenges, particularly regarding energy and water consumption. Experts note that AI data centers require 8 to 10 times more power than traditional facilities. Utah is already experiencing an escalating risk of power shortages, and the state’s water resources, especially in the "high" baseline water stress Wasatch Front area, are a concern. A 100-megawatt data center can consume about 2 million liters of water daily, equivalent to 6,500 households.