Overview
- On Thursday Kevin O’Leary told Utah leaders he would remove roughly 19,430 acres from the proposed Stratos project, shrinking the planned 40,000‑acre site to about 20,000 acres.
- O’Leary pledged new environmental and transparency measures, including dropping parcels near the Locomotive Springs Waterfowl Management Area, dedicating excess treated water to the Great Salt Lake, and creating a public permitting dashboard.
- Even after the reduction the campus would remain larger than Manhattan and earlier reporting estimated full build‑out power needs at roughly 7.5 to 9 gigawatts, raising ongoing concerns about water, heat and emissions.
- State officials emphasized that no permits have been filed or issued and that Governor‑ordered phased agency reviews, thousands of water‑rights protests and potential citizen referendums will shape whether Phase 1 can move forward.
- Lawmakers and local activists say the concession shows political leverage can reshape mega data‑center proposals and foreshadows tighter scrutiny of how large tech projects use scarce Western water and local landscapes.