Kevin O'Leary's mega data center moves forward, amid passionate protests

The Box Elder County Commission in Utah recently approved Project Stratos, a proposed city-sized data center and power plant, amidst significant public resistance. Hundreds of people gathered at the fairgrounds, expressing strong emotions and protesting the project's advancement, leading to multiple interruptions during the public meeting. The commission ultimately voted to approve Resolution 2612, which allows the project to proceed in the northwest part of the county, a decision immediately met with negative reactions from the crowd. Developers, identified as Ori Digital, stated the project would generate up to 9 gigawatts of power, with some returned to the grid, and promised to minimize environmental impacts like land, water, and air quality using "cutting-edge technology." They also highlighted the creation of "a couple thousand jobs" and energy tax revenues for the county. Commissioner Mike Anderson noted that the county land was not zoned, which limited their ability to halt the project, and that approval allowed them to secure agreements and incentives. Opponents, however, felt their voices were "shut down" and described the approval as a "really, really bad deal," expressing concerns about losing land, water, and air quality. The chair of Utah's Military Installation Development Authority mentioned that the initiative for hyperscale data centers stemmed from an executive order by President Trump, providing context for the project's origins.