Kevin O'Leary wants to build a massive AI data centre in Utah. Some residents aren't happy

Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary is proposing to build a 7.5-gigawatt AI data center campus in Box Elder County, Utah, that he asserts would be similar to his planned $70-billion project in northern Alberta, Canada. The Utah development, covering 10,000 to 13,000 acres, would include its own 9-gigawatt natural gas power plant within a larger 40,000-acre site. On May 4, the Box Elder County Commission approved two resolutions allowing the project to proceed, sparking immediate and fierce opposition from local residents.

Residents, including Brenna Williams and Utah State University physics professor Robert Davies, express significant environmental concerns. They highlight the precarious state of the Great Salt Lake, which is at record-low levels, and worry about the additional heat, emissions, and immense water demands a facility of this scale would impose on the desert valley ecosystem. While O'Leary Digital claims the center would use on-site water, a closed-loop cooling system, and heat-capture technology to reduce consumption and repurpose waste heat, residents remain skeptical given existing water rationing in the area.

Opponents also believe the county's approval process was rushed, denying the public sufficient input. Brenna Williams co-founded the Box Elder Accountability Referendum group, which has submitted an application to the county attorneys to put the project's future to a public vote. If approved, the group will need to collect over 5,400 signatures to get the measure on the November midterm ballot. County Commissioner Tyler Vincent stated that the commission's vote is merely the beginning of the oversight process, but Davies questions if current environmental regulations are adequate for a project of this magnitude.