Utah backlash stalls Kevin O’Leary’s proposed Stratos data centre
The 40,000-acre Utah proposal faces a court fight over county consent after residents objected to the approval process and potential local impacts.
Kevin O’Leary’s proposed Stratos data centre in Utah has lost momentum after residents organised against a project they said was advanced without their meaningful input. The Verge’s Josh Dzieza reports that a referendum dispute over county consent is now being litigated, leaving the project’s future uncertain.
Known also as Wonder Valley, the proposal was announced as a 40,000-acre campus with nine gigawatts of power. Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority approved a project area before Box Elder County had consented. County officials, according to The Verge, learned of the plans only shortly before public approval steps.
Residents raised concerns about water, air pollution, land use and tax breaks, as well as their limited role in the process. Developers said the project would not reduce water reaching Great Salt Lake, but residents questioned that assurance.
Protests and political pressure followed. The Verge reports that two local commissioners and Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams lost their seats, while noting other issues also affected the elections. O’Leary’s accusation that critics were Chinese spies drew further backlash; he later apologised, as did Fox News on air.
The referendum’s outcome and the project’s prospects remain unresolved. Dzieza describes Stratos as wounded and lacking its earlier momentum, but says he does not know whether it will proceed. The case illustrates how local consent disputes can complicate plans built around moving data centre development quickly.
