Kevin O'Leary's 9GW Utah AI data center would double state power usage
Original: Kevin O’Leary’s proposed 9GW "hyperscale" AI data center in Utah will consume double the state's entire electricity usage and generate the waste heat of 23 atom bombs a day.
Why This Matters
Highlights massive energy and environmental impacts of hyperscale AI infrastructure
Kevin O'Leary's proposed 9-gigawatt AI data center in Utah would consume twice the state's entire electricity usage and generate heat equivalent to 23 atomic bombs daily, raising environmental concerns about the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
Scientists warn that Kevin O'Leary's proposed Stratos Project hyperscale data center in Utah could create a massive heat island near the Great Salt Lake, potentially devastating the ecosystem. The 9-gigawatt facility would consume double Utah's current electricity usage and generate waste heat equivalent to 23 atomic bombs per day. Utah researchers fear the project could alter local temperatures, strain wildlife populations, and intensify existing environmental threats around the already-stressed Great Salt Lake. The facility would require significantly more energy than Rocky Mountain Power's natural gas Gadsby Plant, which generates less than one-tenth the proposed data center's power output.