Kevin O’Leary agrees to cut the size of his data center in half after backlash

• Kevin O’Leary agreed to scale back his proposed Utah data center project.
• The concession follows pressure from Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams, who wanted a 75% cut.
• The project has drawn concerns over water, energy use, and its rural footprint.

Kevin O’Leary has agreed to scale back his proposed Utah data center project after pressure from a top state lawmaker.

On Thursday, O’Leary pledged to cut the proposed 40,000-acre Stratos development in Box Elder County in half, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Most of the remaining project area would be left as open space, O’Leary wrote in a letter to Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams.

It’s a major concession in the fight over one of the country’s most closely watched AI infrastructure projects. The proposed data center — dubbed the Stratos Project — has sparked a wave of backlash from community members who are concerned about rising energy prices, water use, and environmental damage.

The initial project was expected to require 7.5 to 9 gigawatts, making it one of the largest data center projects in the US.

In a press release responding to the project’s reduced scale, Adams wrote that O’Leary had agreed to all of the conditions outlined in a demand letter he sent to the famed “Shark Tank” investor on Monday, including scaling back the project area and dedicating new water to the Great Salt Lake.

“O’Leary’s concessions in response to the demand letter I sent are a positive step forward,” Adams wrote.

The proposal still faces a lengthy review process. Adams said “no approvals or permits have been applied for, let alone issued,” and that written commitments, permitting, and environmental review would be required before the project could move forward.

A representative for O’Leary Digital didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.