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Kevin O'Leary defends his Utah data center project: 'Think about the ...
Kevin O'Leary defends his Utah data center project: 'Think about the number of jobs' By Lauren Edmonds You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Kevin O'Leary's data center campus in northwest Utah is facing resistance from the community where it's being built. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP 2026-05-08T18:59:25.518Z Kevin O'Leary says people have misconceptions about what data centers are. O'Leary is building a data center in Utah despite community resistance. Data center development has become a serious issue for many American communities. Many Americans don't like the AI data centers popping up in their communities, though Kevin O'Leary thinks that's because they don't fully understand them. O'Leary, the venture capitalist and "Shark Tank" investor who recently starred as a villainous businessman in "Marty Supreme," said Americans have misconceptions about data centers and their environmental impact."It's understanding the concerns of people, but at the same time, think about the number of jobs," O'Leary said in a post on X on Friday.Addressing environmental worries, O'Leary noted that he graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in environmental studies."When a group comes to me and says, 'Look, I have concerns about water, I have concerns about air, I have concerns about wildlife,' I totally get it," O'Leary said. O'Leary has clashed with residents in Box Elder County, Utah, over a new AI data center he's backing on a 40,000-acre campus.County commissioners approved the project, which is also backed by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority, on Monday despite the community opposition. O'Leary said, without providing evidence, that the criticism mainly came from "professional protesters" who were "paid by somebody."One major concern for residents about the data center — dubbed the Stratos Project — is that it could strain the water supply. Data centers can use millions of gallons of water each day. Increased utility bills, noise, and a drop in quality of life are also points of contention.O'Leary said the public misunderstands the impact of data centers because they were "poorly represented" in the past, and that the technology powering them has "advanced dramatically." He said data centers don't use as much water as they once did and can use a closed-loop system to avoid evaporation. Data centers can also rely on air-cooled turbines as an alternative to managing t...
3 things to know about Kevin O'Leary's massive proposed Utah data center - Axios Salt Lake City
Why it matters: Supporters say the "hyperscale" data center would create 2,000 jobs and help keep the U.S. competitive in the fast-moving field of AI. Critics say it could be environmentally catastrophic, using water amid drought and burning ...
Kevin O'Leary disputes environmental impact claims from his massive Utah data center project
O'Leary also claims that the protesters at Monday's meeting were bussed in and paid —"by somebody, I don't know who." I’m the only developer of data centers on earth that graduated from environmental studies. I'm pretty aware of what these concerns are. They are around air, water use, heat, noise pollution. So sustainability is at the heart of what we do in terms of all these proposals. We… pic.twitter.com/Qvob70uEmh— Kevin O'Leary aka Mr.
'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary defends Utah data center project amid backlash
The Box Elder County Commission voted to move forward with a large-scale data center project, with 'former Shark Tank' star and investor in the project through his venture firm, O’Leary Digital, Kevin O'Leary defending the project's environmental considerations.
