The biggest data center ever is becoming a huge problem in Utah
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A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. AI AIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All AI Policy PolicyPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Policy Report ReportPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
FollowSee All ReportThe biggest data center ever is becoming a huge problem in UtahKevin O’Leary wants to cover 40,000 acres. Residents say, ‘Not in my backyard. ’by Emma Roth Emma RothNews WriterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Technical Details
FollowSee All by Emma RothMay 20, 2026, 1:00 PM UTC Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images AI AIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All AI Policy PolicyPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Policy Report ReportPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
FollowSee All ReportThe biggest data center ever is becoming a huge problem in UtahKevin O’Leary wants to cover 40,000 acres. Residents say, ‘Not in my backyard. ’by Emma Roth Emma RothNews WriterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
FollowSee All by Emma RothMay 20, 2026, 1:00 PM UTC Part OfAll the latest updates on AI data centerssee all updates Emma Roth Emma RothPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
Industry Implications
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 the Chinese and the rest of the world we are not messing around,” he said during a Fox News interview last month. The project has obtained approval from the county and Gov. Spencer Cox, but it must still obtain environmental and building permits.
This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.
