Hundreds of furious Utah residents packed a gym and erupted in chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” this week as county commissioners pushed through approval of “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary’s colossal AI data center project — a sprawling development critics warn could transform the rural region forever.
The controversial proposal ignited a political firestorm in Box Elder County, where regulators voted to advance O’Leary’s planned “hyperscale” data center — a massive complex expected to generate and consume more than twice the electricity currently used by the entire state of Utah.
The fierce backlash in Box Elder County, population 64,100, reflects a growing national revolt against massive AI data centers. Critics say the sites guzzle enormous amounts of water and electricity, receive lavish tax breaks and permanently transform rural communities while creating relatively few long-term jobs.
Last month, small-town Missourians voted to oust several councilmembers who backed a $6 billion data center despite intense opposition from locals.
Opponents of the Utah project have raised alarms over the potential for pollution, drought strain, rising energy demand and what they describe as a rushed approval process that gave residents little say over a development expected to reshape tens of thousands of acres of open land.
The proposed site would span roughly 60 square miles — making it nearly three times the size of Manhattan — and would be powered largely by natural gas, according to state officials.
Hundreds of residents jammed into the Box Elder County Commission’s special meeting Monday carrying protest signs and blasting commissioners over what critics described as a rushed and secretive process.
The fury inside the gym boiled over into hallways and parking lots as demonstrators shouted at officials after the vote, with some accusing county leaders of selling out the region’s land, water and air quality.
Commissioners moved the meeting from their usual chambers to a larger fairgrounds facility in Tremonton after anticipating an unusually large turnout, according to local reports.
O’Leary brushed off much of the backlash by claiming the demonstrations were fueled by outside agitators rather than local residents.
“We think over 90% of the protesters are actually not people that live in Utah or Box Elder County. They’re being bussed in,” the investor said this week in a video posted to social media.
The fallout from the vote became so heated that one commissioner said police officers were stationed outside commissioners’ homes after the meeting amid fears demonstrators could show up at there.
“Today I have policemen parked in front of my house,” Commissioner Lee Perry told ABC4, adding that protesters were “attacking, not just me personally, but my family.”
Scientists and environmental experts warned the proposed facility’s massive energy appetite could dramatically worsen pollution in Utah because the project would rely heavily on natural gas generation.
One Utah State University physicist estimated the project could raise the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 50%.
At full buildout, the sprawling AI campus is projected to require up to 9 gigawatts of electricity — more than double Utah’s current average statewide power consumption, according to state officials.
The project has also drawn scrutiny over lucrative incentives approved by state officials in an effort to secure the development.
Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, approved a sharply reduced energy tax rate of 0.5% for the project — far below the 6% rate it was authorized to charge.
State officials also acknowledged they aggressively fast-tracked the proposal as they competed with rival states to land the project.
“It’s a competition,” MIDA executive director Paul Morris said last month. “That’s also why we’ve been rushing it so fast.”
Kirk Offel, CEO of Overwatch Mission Critical, told The Post that the Utah project’s proposed 9-gigawatt scale would have been unimaginable just a few years ago — but said the AI boom is rapidly changing the economics and infrastructure demands of the industry.
“Nine gigawatts is aggressive. But it’s not unrealistic. Not anymore,” Offel said.
“We are no longer building data centers, we are building industrial infrastructure for intelligence.”
Offel said the biggest challenge facing hyperscale AI projects is no longer demand, but execution — including whether developers can secure enough power, build workforce capacity and maintain community trust.
He also acknowledged the enormous environmental concerns surrounding the Utah proposal, saying projects of this size force “hard choices into the open’ over water use, emissions and sustainability.”
“Natural gas is being used as a bridge, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s available, scalable, and dispatchable right now,” Offel told The Post.
“The real issue is this: We have demand moving at exponential speed, and policy, infrastructure, and environmental alignment moving at linear speed.”
