Utahns Protest Kevin O'Leary-Backed 40,000-Acre Data Center as He Alleges China Role
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · May 29
Utahns Protest Kevin O'Leary-Backed 40,000-Acre Data Center as He Alleges China Role
4 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 29
Salt Lake City protesters rallied last week against a 40,000-acre data center planned for Utah's largely undeveloped northwest corner, making the project the latest flashpoint over AI-era infrastructure.
Kevin O'Leary, the billionaire backer tied to the proposal, said China helped stir opposition, echoing Trump administration claims that foreign propaganda is fueling U.S. resistance to data centers.
The report says those allegations rest on scant evidence, leaving the local backlash centered more clearly on the scale and location of the development than on any proven foreign campaign.
The dispute highlights how massive data-center expansion is colliding with community opposition, even as prominent investors and political allies frame that resistance as a national-security issue.
Are claims of foreign plots being used to sideline local concerns over massive new data centers?
Can Utah's desert sustain the world's largest data center and its massive thirst for water and power?
If artificial intelligence is the future, why is it being powered by a massive new fossil fuel plant?