O'Leary Digital has unveiled plans for a roughly 40,000-acre AI data center campus in Utah that would operate entirely off the local power grid, with a potential capacity of up to nine gigawatts.
Starting at roughly three gigawatts, the facility's initial power capacity was described by O'Leary in an appearance on Fox & Friends — where he also serves as chairman of O'Leary Ventures. A nearby natural gas pipeline would serve as the project's power source, sidestepping the grid-dependency that has fueled opposition to data centers elsewhere, O'Leary explained. Excess power could also be supplied back to the grid.
"Most people don't like data centers for good reason," O'Leary said. "You tap it to the grid and all of a sudden the electrical costs for their church and the community and the residents all go up, and that's why there's been a lot of pushback. Not in this case."
O'Leary said the project could attract major technology companies and potential government partners, and framed the development in terms of competition with China. "We need to lead in AI in perpetuity," he said. "Data centers are what we need, and we need them now, and Utah stepped up."
The approval process has faced some challenges. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, a vote by the Box Elder County Commission was delayed after more than 80 residents attended a meeting in Brigham City. They pushed back against what they saw as a rushed process influenced by state officials.