A data center spanning more than twice the size of Manhattan has been approved in Box Elder County, Utah. The Stratus Project, backed by Kevin O'Leary, will require nine gigawatts of power, more than the entire state of Utah currently consumes, and is already drawing furious public backlash over its impact on energy supply and the state's stressed water resources.

When Tucker Carlson sat down with O'Leary, he had some questions about who actually approved it.

Tucker: "How do you know that? That the majority—"

O'Leary: "Because they voted for it unanimously before the Chinese guys."

Tucker: "There was a referendum among citizens, or did some like county board vote?"

O'Leary: "We actually went through the whole process that you have to do by their laws and were granted three to zero. The commissioners of the county said 'we want—' "

Tucker: "Three people voted. The people of the county—"

O'Leary: "Elected officials. That's how you do it."

Tucker: "How hard is it for Kevin O'Leary and Amazon and Microsoft and Google to subvert three county commissioners in rural Utah? Why don't you have a referendum? Why don't you let all citizens, all taxpayers - the ones who are paying for your project - why don't they get to vote?

America now has over 4,000 data centers spread across rural counties and cities, more than any other country in the world, and the buildout is moving fast. Three county commissioners approved this one. The people paying for it in energy, water, and land did not get a vote.

@delbigtree