The biggest data center ever is becoming a huge problem in Utah

Key points

• Utah may host one of the world’s most colossal data centers, despite stark warnings from experts and fierce public backlash.
• Earlier this month, commissioners in Box Elder County signed off on the Stratos Project: a 40,000-acre data center stretching across the county’s Hansel Valley.
• It’s supposed to establish American AI dominance, but potentially at the expense of environmental damage and a strain on already overtaxed water supplies.
• The Stratos Project, backed by Shark Tank investor and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, is projected to be more than twice the size of Manhattan and consume 9GW of power — almost double the state’s peak electricity demand in 2025. Its first phase is projected to cost more than $4 billion, according to Utah Money Watch.
• O’Leary positions it as a way for the US to become an AI superpower and bolster national defense by serving the government and “tech firm contractors.” “It shows...