Shark Tank Star Is Fighting Phantom Bots While Utah Locals Fight His Data Center
Kevin O'Leary is facing significant opposition from Utah locals regarding his proposed Stratos Project data center. He has claimed that the backlash is being driven by foreign interference, specifically from the Chinese Communist Party, despite a lack of evidence to support this assertion. Polls indicate that a majority of Utah residents oppose the project due to its environmental impact and questionable economic benefits.
- ▪Kevin O'Leary's Stratos Project data center is proposed to consume nine gigawatts of electricity, more than twice what Utah currently uses.
- ▪The project is expected to cost about $4 billion for the first phase and could reach up to $20 billion upon completion.
- ▪A poll found that 53% of the public opposes the data center, with 70% believing its economic benefits do not outweigh the environmental concerns.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Kevin O’Leary came to Utah with a pitch: He gets 40,000 acres of their land, and they get an ugly, energy-guzzling data center that creates minimal long-term jobs. Utahans said, “I’m out,” but the Shark Tank star isn’t taking no for an answer. Instead, he’s claiming that it’s actually the Chinese Communist Party behind the pushback against his data center project, despite a Washington Post report finding little to no evidence to back those…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Gizmodo.
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