Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox said Friday he will require a data center project backed by Kevin O'Leary to win new approvals for each phase after hearing complaints from residents about the plan. He said the first phase cannot exceed 1.5 gigawatts and ordered state agencies to tighten their review of the project's air and water impacts.
Cox said residents had raised real concerns about the proposed development, including noise, utility costs, water use and the effect on their quality of life. He directed the state's environmental agency to review all permits tied to air quality and told the Department of Natural Resources to make sure Utah's water is protected. He also said the project should use the most environmentally sensitive cooling systems.
The project had already cleared a local hurdle, with Box Elder County commissioners approving the data center before Cox announced his new demands. The site is the Stratos Project, a 40,000-acre campus in northern Utah, and it sits at the center of a wider push for data centers driven by artificial intelligence. Those facilities can require vast amounts of power and water, which has made them a flashpoint in communities trying to weigh promised economic activity against pressure on local resources.
Residents have protested the plan and fought with local politicians over its impact, saying the facility could strain the water supply, raise utility costs and add noise to daily life. O'Leary pushed back this week, saying opposition may have come from professional protesters and that AI-generated posts were, in his view, ironically driving the conversation. He also said the public may misunderstand what data centers are and how they work.
O'Leary said that, over time, understanding sustainability, water and air rights and local concerns will matter more than the equity raised for the project. The immediate fight now shifts to state review, where each phase of the Stratos Project will have to clear a higher bar before construction can move forward.
