Hundreds of angry Utahns packed the gym and erupted in chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” This week as county commissioners The payment was made by the endorsement of “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary A massive artificial intelligence data center project – a sprawling development project he warns could change the rural area forever.
The controversial proposal sparked a political storm in Box Elder County, where organizers voted in favor O’Leary’s planned “hyperscale” data center development – A massive complex expected to generate and consume more than twice the electricity currently used by the entire state of Utah.
The backlash in Box Elder County, population 64,100, reflects a growing national revolt against massive AI data centers. Critics say these sites consume huge amounts of water and electricity, receive generous tax breaks, and permanently transform rural communities while creating relatively few long-term jobs.
Last month, residents of a small town in Missouri voted to evict several council members who supported a $6 billion data center. Despite strong opposition from local residents.
Opponents of the Utah project have raised alarm about the potential for pollution, drought stress, high energy demand and what they describe as a rushed approval process that gave residents little say over the development expected to reshape tens of thousands of acres of open land.
The proposed site will extend over approximately 60 square miles – Making it nearly three times the size of Manhattan It will be powered largely by natural gas, according to government officials.
Hundreds of residents packed into the special meeting of the Box Elder County Commission on Monday carrying protest signs and attacking commissioners over what critics called a rushed and secretive process.
Anger inside the gym spilled into the hallways and parking lots, where protesters shouted at officials after the vote, and some accused county leaders of selling out the area’s land, water and air quality.
Commissioners moved the meeting from their usual rooms to a larger facility at the fairgrounds in Tremonton after anticipating an unusually large turnout, according to local reports.
O’Leary ignored much of the backlash Under the pretext of fueling demonstrations By external instigators, not local residents.
“We believe that over 90% of the protesters are not actually people who live in Utah or Box Elder County. They are being bused in,” the investor said this week in a video posted on 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 that protesters would show up there.
“Today I have cops parked in front of my house,” Commissioner Lee Perry ABC4 saidAdding that the demonstrators were “attacking me personally, not just my family.”
Scientists and environmental experts have warned that the proposed facility’s massive appetite for energy could significantly worsen pollution in Utah because the project would rely heavily on natural gas generation.
A Utah State University physicist estimated that the project could increase the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by about 50%.
When construction is complete, the sprawling AI campus is expected to need up to 9 gigawatts of electricity, more than double Utah’s current statewide average energy consumption, according to state officials.
The project has also come under scrutiny over lucrative incentives that state officials approved in an effort to secure the development.
The Utah Military Installations Development Authority, or MIDA, approved a sharp reduction in the 0.5% energy tax rate for the project — far below the 6% rate it was authorized to charge.
State officials also acknowledged that they aggressively accelerated the proposal as they competed with competing states to get the project.
“It’s a competition,” Paul Morris, MIDA’s executive director, said last month. “That’s also why we rushed it so quickly.”
Kirk Offill, CEO of Overwatch Mission Critical, told The Post that the proposed scope of the 9-gigawatt Utah project would have been unimaginable just a few years ago — but he said the AI boom is rapidly changing the economics and infrastructure demands of the industry.
“Nine gigawatts is a lot of energy,” Ovil said. “But it’s not unrealistic. Not anymore.”
“We are no longer building data centers, we are building industrial intelligence infrastructure.”
The biggest challenge facing large-scale AI projects is no longer demand, but implementation — including whether developers can secure enough power, build workforce capacity and maintain community trust, Ovil said.
He also acknowledged the enormous environmental concerns surrounding Utah’s proposal, saying projects of this size force “difficult choices out into the open” regarding 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 scalable right now,” Ovil told The Washington Post.
“The real problem is that demand is moving at tremendous speed, and policy, infrastructure and environmental alignment are moving at linear speed.”