Kevin O’Leary claims he’s building America’s largest data center in Utah “for legacy, not profit

Commissioners in Box Elder County, Utah, have unanimously voted to advance a $100 billion data center project backed by Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary. The proposal has sparked significant backlash from local residents, who have launched a legal effort to stop the development through a public referendum.

The proposed facility is designed as a 9-gigawatt project with a massive physical footprint. According to reporting from Fortune, the data center would cover 40,000 acres, an area roughly equivalent in size to Washington, D.C. Residents have expressed particular concern over the project’s environmental and utility impact, as the facility would consume more electricity in a single year than the entire state of Utah currently uses.

The project is situated in Box Elder County, a rural region in the northwest corner of Utah with a population of just under 60,000 residents. The tension surrounding the development peaked during a recent meeting at the county fairgrounds, where a crowd of protesters gathered to demand more information regarding the project’s implications for the community.

The meeting reportedly became unruly, leading to a confrontation between the public and local officials. During the proceedings, one commissioner told the protesting audience to “grow up.” Following this exchange, the elected officials moved to a private room to officially approve the project, while the attendees were forced to watch the vote via a livestream, as reported by CNN.

In response to the approval, a group of local residents has filed an application to place a referendum on the ballot to block the data center. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the Box Elder County attorney is currently reviewing the viability of the application. If the application is deemed viable, the effort will require more than 5,000 signatures from county residents to move forward to a public vote.

A spokesperson for Box Elder County confirmed that the referendum application was received last week and stated that the county has a 20-day window to review the filing. However, the county has cautioned that a successful referendum may not necessarily terminate the project entirely, but could instead complicate the terms of its development.

If the referendum moves forward successfully, it would void the consent and agreement approved by the Box Elder County Commissioners — not necessarily stop the project itself. That means the project could possibly still move forward, but without the concessions, conditions and protections negotiated by the County.

Spokesperson for Box Elder County

The county spokesperson further noted that the commissioners had worked to secure the best possible outcome for the region, and warned that undoing the current agreement could strip away the negotiated protections and conditions intended to safeguard the county.

Kevin O’Leary has positioned the project as a contribution to his professional legacy rather than a pursuit of profit. Amid the growing local opposition, O’Leary has suggested that the backlash is being amplified by external forces. He has claimed that China is funding online misinformation campaigns specifically designed to undermine the Utah data center project.

A spokesperson for O’Leary did not immediately respond to requests for further comment on the project’s energy requirements or the ongoing efforts by residents to initiate a referendum.