Utah mega datacenter could dump 23 atomic bombs worth of energy per day
Residents seek a referendum to overturn approval of a 9-gigawatt AI campus that backers say will create 10,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent positions.
- Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary is pushing back against public opposition to his Stratos data center project in Box Elder County, Utah, which received approval last month.
- Military Installation Development Authority executive director Paul Morris confirmed the site will rely on natural gas, scaling to 9 gigawatts of power compared with Utah's 4 gigawatts of average annual consumption.
- Citing threats to the shrinking Great Salt Lake, protesters gathered with signs reading "People before profits" to express concerns over local resource strain.
- Dismissing opposition as manufactured, Leary claimed most protesters were outsiders and emphasized that "sustainability is at the heart of what we do" through improved technology.
- The conflict illustrates rising friction between AI infrastructure expansion and community resistance, as similar projects in Alberta and Utah face growing scrutiny over environmental impacts.
103 Articles
103 Articles
Utah mega datacenter could dump 23 atomic bombs worth of energy per day
A proposed mega-scale datacenter in the US state of Utah has caused controversy after a physics professor estimated that the facility and its associated power generation could dump 23 atomic bombs' worth of energy per day. But the real question is whether it will actually ever get built. The datacenter is part of the Stratos Project Area in Box Elder County, Utah, overseen by the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), a state agency…
Kevin O'Leary-Backed AI Data Center Transforms Rural Utah Into a National Flash Point
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” chanted over a thousand voices at the May 4 meeting of the Box Elder County Commission in rural Utah as the three commissioners collected their things and quickly made their way toward the exit. Police moved toward the crowd as chants continued: “Who are you protecting?” and, “People over profit!” The county commissioners had just voted to approve one of the world’s largest data centers. A 40,000-acre complex known as the…
This AI data center will be bigger than 2,000 Walmarts and dump '23 atom bombs worth of energy' into the environment every day — and locals are terrified
A massive new AI data center in rural Utah could consume more electricity than the entire state — and locals fear the environmental consequences. Here’s why the controversial Stratos Project is becoming a flashpoint in America’s AI arms race.
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