Kevin O'Leary, the celebrity investor from Shark Tank, has agreed to reduce the size of his proposed data centre in Utah by half after a dispute with state lawmakers. The Stratos Project, initially planned to cover 10,000 acres on a 40,000-acre site in Box Elder County, will now be cut to approximately 5,000 acres, though it will still be larger than Manhattan.
The conflict began when Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams demanded a 75% reduction and stronger commitments on conservation, environmental impact, heat reduction, and transparency. O'Leary's team said the demands caught them off guard, but responded on Thursday with a 50% cut, less than the requested 75%. O'Leary compared the larger reduction to selling a house and only being allowed to use the upstairs toilet.
The project has faced opposition from residents and environmental groups concerned about its resource use. The data centre will require 9 GW of power—more than the entire state of Utah currently consumes—and could threaten the fragile Great Salt Lake ecosystem. Franque Bains of the Sierra Club called the project 'irresponsible and dangerous' given the lake's crisis.
O'Leary defended the project as a job creator and a boost to national security, claiming it would provide computing power for AI companies defending the country. He also dismissed aesthetic concerns, stating that data centres can be beautiful, not just 'gray boxes'.
In response to protests, O'Leary alleged that paid actors were involved and said he would provide evidence to the Trump administration. He claimed his team uncovered a coordinated campaign by international entities targeting energy and data centre projects, and prepared 90 pages of evidence.
