Five hundred Utah residents showed up to say no. The commissioners left the room and approved it anyway.
Kevin O'Leary — the "Mr. Wonderful" investor from Shark Tank — is behind a massive AI data center project called Wonder Valley in Box Elder County, Utah. The project spans more than 40,000 acres — over two and a half times the size of Manhattan. Residents were only told about it last week. On Monday night, commissioners held a special meeting and voted unanimously to approve it while protesters chanted "Shame! Shame! Shame!"
Here's what this project would do to Utah: more than double the state's entire electricity usage, increase its carbon footprint by over 50%, potentially drain more water from the already dying Great Salt Lake, and drive up residential energy bills — just like in Virginia, Illinois, and Ohio, where utility costs jumped 13-20% year over year after data centers moved in.
The developers claim the facility uses "zero water turbine" technology. But there is no publicly available analysis, no independent review, and no contracts cited to back that up. O'Leary also claimed the project would be powered by solar and wind. It runs entirely on natural gas.
A University of Utah professor called it plainly: a private enterprise coming in to extract Utah's natural wealth and leave residents with crumbs.
Sign this petition to demand Box Elder County reverse its approval and require a full, independent environmental review before any construction begins.