Kevin O’Leary’s $9-GW Utah data-center plan sparks lawsuits and local backlash

Kevin O’Leary promoted a 40,000-acre “Wonder Valley” AI compute campus in Box Elder County, Utah, promising the world’s largest data center powered by a 9-gigawatt gas plant and backed by Governor Spencer Cox, Senate President J. Stuart Adams and the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). The plan was fast-tracked with tax breaks, on-site power and water rights, but local landowners and groups such as Alliance for a Better Utah were warned only weeks before county commissioners voted, prompting protests and a lawsuit accusing O’Leary of labeling opponents as Chinese-funded.

The commissioners’ rushed approval, conducted in a back-room meeting, led to public outrage, a referendum campaign, and the defeat of several supportive politicians in the June primaries. The project has been halved in size but remains without tenants, permits or land transfers, and litigation continues to block further progress.