Kevin O’Leary officially agreed to scale back his massive, heavily contested “Stratos Project” data center in Box Elder County, Utah.
The compromise came after Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams sent a formal letter demanding a 75% reduction in the project’s physical footprint—cutting it down from a sprawling 40,000 acres to approximately 10,000 acres—alongside much stricter environmental safeguards.
The pushback, the sudden scaling back, and the strict conditions reflect how intensely local governments are scrutinizing massive AI infrastructure projects.
The New Terms of the Agreement
- Footprint Reduction: O’Leary agreed to cut over 20,000 acres immediately, specifically pulling back development from land near the Locomotive Springs Waterfowl Management Area. He noted he hadn’t initially realized the proximity to the bird sanctuary, stating, “You don’t put wind where there’s birds.”
- Great Salt Lake Protections: To address severe public anxiety over the region’s water crisis, O’Leary committed to donating any treated excess water back into the Great Salt Lake to help stabilize its water levels.
- Radical Transparency: The development team agreed to collaborate with state agencies to launch a public-facing website consolidating all environmental permits, resource metrics, and approvals to combat what O’Leary called a “misinformation campaign” driving local protests.
Behind the Pushback: Water & Power
When the Stratos Project was quietly introduced, it initially enjoyed backing from local county officials who championed its massive economic potential and national security benefits. However, public backlash erupted almost immediately over three critical points:
- Water Consumption: Data centers require millions of gallons of water daily for cooling. In an arid state like Utah—where the shrinking Great Salt Lake is a constant ecological concern—residents strongly resisted any new industrial drain on local basins.
- Infrastructure Strain: The sheer scale of the original 40,000-acre proposal threatened to overwhelm regional power grids and shift the landscape of Box Elder County entirely.
- Political Realignments: As grassroots protests and referendum efforts gathered steam, top state Republicans shifted their stance. Senate President Adams faced pressure to act, leading to his hardline demand for a 75% cut to ensure economic expansion doesn’t completely overwrite resource preservation.
While O’Leary admitted his decision to yield was driven by political realities, state leaders have called his capitulation a “positive step forward.” Even so, the project is still in its earliest, pre-groundbreaking stages, and local activist groups emphasize that even a downsized 10,000-acre project remains an incredibly massive development for the area