Carlson Challenges O'Leary's 9-Gigawatt Utah Data Center as Tax Breaks and 2,000 Jobs Face Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · Deseret News · May 14
Carlson Challenges O'Leary's 9-Gigawatt Utah Data Center as Tax Breaks and 2,000 Jobs Face Scrutiny
8 articles · Updated · Deseret News · May 14
Tucker Carlson pressed Kevin O'Leary in a podcast interview over why Utah should subsidize a private data center project whose first phase promises 10,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent roles.
O'Leary defended the incentives as standard interstate competition, saying Utah could lose the project to other states without them, while conceding he could not specify what new AI-driven jobs the development would ultimately create.
The proposed 40,000-acre Box Elder County complex would consume 9 gigawatts at full buildout, with approved incentives including 100% personal property tax relief, an 80% rebate on most real property tax, and an energy tax cut to 0.5% from 6%.
Carlson argued that taking taxpayer support makes the developers accountable to residents, whose concerns center on water use, air quality and natural-gas power generation; O'Leary has dismissed some opposition as outside agitation.
A referendum effort is already under review after the county's May 4 approval, and organizers would need 5,422 signatures in 45 days to force a ballot measure overturning that vote.
After public outcry forced a scale-back, can O'Leary's massive data center truly deliver on its revised economic and environmental promises?
Is Utah's battle over a data center a preview of America's future conflicts between AI's growth and local community resources?