Kevin O’Leary wants to build a big AI data center in Utah. Some residents are not happy
Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary wants to bankroll an artificial intelligence data center in rural Utah that he says will be similar to his $70-billion, 7.5-gigawatt AI data center campus in northern Alberta.
But the Utah project is already facing strong opposition from some residents concerned about the environmental impact of such a large development in their backyard.
The Utah data center is planned for Box Elder County, a rural county in the northwest corner of the state.
Like the Wonder Valley AI data center planned for Greenview County, near Grande Prairie, Alta., the Utah campus will bring about 7.5 gigawatts of computing power and cover between 10,000 and 13,000 acres when complete.
It would be part of a larger, 40,000-acre development on privately owned vacant land that would house its own natural gas power plant capable of generating up to nine gigawatts, according to an FAQ prepared by Box Elder County.
The county commission approved two resolutions on May 4 allowing the project to move forward. The decision sparked strong opposition from residents concerned that the data center could worsen the effects of climate change in the area.
Supporters, including O’Leary, say it will boost the local economy by bringing nearly 2,000 permanent jobs and additional tax revenue to the county. O’Leary said the project could also significantly increase US computing power and productivity.
“A country with the best AI will have the best productivity, the best education, the best martial law, the best of everything,” O’Leary said in an interview with CBC News.
O’Leary said he hopes construction will begin by the end of next year if the project clears environmental testing.
Asked what his message is to concerned Utah residents, O’Leary said they deserve answers and that his company is committed to developing the project clearly.
“We can’t do whatever we want. So everything we will do will be visible and public in these requests. If something is hit in them, it’s fine,” he said.
Environmental concerns
Of particular concern to some residents is the Great Salt Lake, which has dropped to record levels in recent years.
“This is a lake system and ecosystem that is already in a very advanced stage of collapse,” said Robert Davies, a professor of physics at Utah State University and an expert on climate change.
Davies said the proposed development would be built in a desert valley that receives little rain, where plants and animals rely on daily rainfall for moisture.
He worries more heat and emissions from development capable of producing “double the amount of energy for the entire nation” will further disrupt that fragile ecosystem.
“So it’s not a small thing, it’s a big thing.”
An AI data center is coming to Canada and cooling the technology will require large amounts of fresh water. Nationally, the CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit dives into the use and exposes a bad business with little oversight.
Brenna Williams says she’s already living with the effects of the shrinking Great Salt Lake and worsening air quality in her community — and she doubts development won’t make things worse.
“Right now we are being told to divide the water for us,” said Williams.
“But suddenly we have all this extra water to power the heat generation of that and cool the data center? I don’t see any water to do that.”
O’Leary Digital says the facility will use local water and will not draw fresh water from the well. The project’s design will use a closed-loop cooling system that recycles water and will “significantly reduce water consumption,” according to a fact sheet from O’Leary Digital.
The campus is also designed with heat retention and recycling systems to recycle waste heat, the fact sheet said.
Residents want a voice
Other residents, including Brenna Williams and her son Tameron, also feel the county’s decision to move forward with the project was rushed and the community didn’t get enough time to weigh in. Hundreds of people attended the controversial public meeting where the decision was made.
Brenna is now one of the leaders of the citizens’ group, Box Elder Accountability Referendum, which wants the future of the project to be voted on.
“We want justice. We don’t want the citizens to bear all the risk. That’s crazy,” he said.
“I think that’s not, you know, an unreasonable request, right? We want transparency, we want accountability,” said Tameron, who serves as the club’s secretary.
The referendum request is being reviewed by county attorneys. The group expects to hear back by the end of the month.
If approved, the group will have 45 days to collect just over 5,400 signatures from registered voters in the state’s four precincts to get a question about approving the project on the ballot during the November midterm elections.
In a news release, Box Elder County Commissioner Tyler Vincent said the commission’s vote to move the project forward “is not the end of the oversight process, but it’s just the beginning.”
But Davies doubted that the government’s existing environmental laws were designed for a project of this scale.
“I am concerned that they say that environmental regulations will be followed, when I am not at all clear that those laws are designed even for a job like this,” he said.
Where the Alberta project stands
As for the Alberta project, which was first announced in December 2024, O’Leary said he still has to secure permits.
In April, the Alberta government said it would not conduct an environmental impact assessment on the Wonder Valley AI Data Center Park project because of its proposed use of conventional power and water systems.
However, the province said Wonder Valley must provide a detailed technical assessment of the environmental impact “and demonstrate that the project can be built and operated safely” before construction can begin.
AI’s data center in Alberta is exempt from the province’s environmental impact assessment
Ryan Ratzlaff, reeve of the Municipal District of Greenview, which is partnering with O’Leary Ventures on the project, said it’s too early to tell how residents feel, noting that O’Leary Ventures is about to hold open houses to gather feedback.
But in the interview no Edmonton AM in April, he said he believed the project would benefit the district, the province “and the region itself.”
“I don’t think we can fully put our heads together.”
