As an investor you tend to have a mind sight that business do the right thing, sometimes they do, sometimes they do not but business seeks opportunity. One of the great drivers of the US economy is data centers, and it is attracting billions of dollars in investment. Are all data centers equal, no but there seems to be a great demand for them.

In an article by Jack Healy of the New York Times News Service, Kevin O’Leary who many readers have seen on Shark Tank invested in a company that wants to build the largest data center in the world outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Data centers are wonderful to run large model AI, but they also need water, natural gas and relatively inexpensive land.

Mr. O’Leary’s Stratos Project did the correct political thing, he called upon Governor Spencer Cox to start the hype and gain approval from the regulations the state would require for the project.

Then people have a say. It is important to note in Utah, generally the Republic Party candidates win the elections. However with data centers everyone has an opinion and given Great Salt Lake is drying up, would the data center have claims for the water or would individuals? Two town halls were packed with people and public comments have reached into the thousands against.

Two commissioners who voted yes are facing Republican primary challengers who would say no. The Utah State Senate President who championed the deal, has called for cuts to its size.

Mr. O’Leary had cut back the project in half to cover 20,000 acres.

One long time resident of Utah noted there is a lot of top-down follow the leader culture. But something has changed, it is torches and pitchforks out there.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, as someone who benefits from companies making profits, you like the idea the company continually proposes new projects to ensure it makes profits. Not every project is great, some of them should not have been done in the first place. Ideally in the company there is some sort of balance which allows for the company and the community it settles it to benefit.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.