Kevin O'Leary's 40,000-Acre Utah AI Data Center Approved Despite 1,000+ Protesters — Would Double State's Electricity Use

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Box Elder County, Utah commissioners approved the 'Stratos Project,' a 40,000-acre AI and cloud computing campus backed by Kevin O'Leary's O'Leary Digital, despite over 1,000 residents attending the commission meeting to oppose it. The project would consume up to 9 gigawatts of power — roughly double Utah's current total electricity consumption — and increase the state's carbon footprint by 50%, while potentially accelerating the depletion of the Great Salt Lake. O'Leary dismissed opposition as 'professional protesters,' a claim community members have strongly disputed.