Kevin O’Leary dismisses Utah data center opposition as ‘based on misinformation and just straight-out lies,’ and he says China is fueling the fire

Millionaire investor Kevin O’Leary is really turning up the heat, dismissing mounting opposition to his massive AI data center proposal in Utah as “ridiculous” and even accusing China of helping to fuel a smear campaign against his Stratos project. O’Leary, known for his no-nonsense approach on “Shark Tank,” made these strong statements in an interview with The Hill.

O’Leary firmly believes that “a lot of those concerns are based on misinformation and just straight-out lies.” He’s even gone so far as to hire forensic auditors to investigate, suggesting he thinks outside interests are deliberately spreading false information. He wants to know, “All these people have a right to get information. Why are they getting it from a false initiative? Who is spending all this money to put out all these falsehoods and straight-out misinformation and lies and agitate these people?”

The project in question, known as Stratos, is an ambitious AI data center development planned for Box Elder County in Utah. It’s being billed as one of the world’s largest AI data center developments and is expected to span multiple sites across the Beehive State. O’Leary Digital, his company, is partnering with the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) on this massive plan. It’s a huge undertaking, and MIDA actually approved the project back in April.

Despite the official approval, the proposal has certainly sparked a lot of backlash from local residents

Over the weekend, people held protests, and thousands of comments have been filed in objection. The main concerns you’ll hear from the community revolve around the project’s potential impact on Utah’s precious water supply and its massive energy demands. It’s understandable that folks would be worried about those things, especially when you’re talking about a development of this scale. In fact, hundreds of protesters from across Utah participated in a rally against the project even before O’Leary presented his proposal.

O’Leary, however, is quick to dispute many of these claims, calling them outright false. For instance, he addressed the idea that the project would consume all 40,000 acres associated with the proposal, clarifying that only a fraction of that space would actually be used for the center. He told NewsNation, “The idea that it’s 40,000 acres, that’s ridiculous.” He further explained that “That was the parcel that was available. We’ll probably use a quarter of that.” That certainly puts the land usage into a different perspective, doesn’t it?

He also firmly rejected the concerns that the data center would drain water from the Great Salt Lake or cause utility bills for local residents to skyrocket. He contended, “We’re not planning to take any water from the Great Salt Lake. And if anything, we’ll put water back into the Great Salt Lake after it’s treated.” He also added that the facility will generate its own power through the Ruby Pipeline.

The “Shark Tank” investor also took to social media to share his perspective and push back against the protesters, even claiming that most of them were from out of state. He emphasized his unique qualifications for developing such a project, stating, “I’m the only developer of data centers on earth that graduated from environmental studies.” He went on to explain that he’s “pretty aware of what these concerns are,” listing them as “air, water use, heat, noise pollution.”

According to O’Leary, sustainability is truly “at the heart of what we do in terms of all these proposals.” He’s constantly searching for the best technology to minimize environmental impact. He pointed out that there are “many air-cooled turbines now, so you’re blending in air-cooled versus water.” This flexibility in power generation methods means there are “so many different ways to generate power” efficiently.

He also brought up the exciting advancements in renewable energy, mentioning that they can “also put a percentage of the power generation through solar, win, and batteries.” He highlighted that battery technology is “10 times more efficient than it was just five years ago,” and this progress is “very helpful because it makes the cost of energy lower.”