'Shark Tank' billionaire Kevin O'Leary gets 'VIP pass' for world's largest AI data center

Government officials in Alberta, Canada, have granted an exception to environmental review for a project dubbed "the world's largest AI data center." It's a decision that analysts say could set Canada back 20 years in reducing carbon pollution. 

Canada's National Observer reported that "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary is helming the project. It faced criticism from Canadian citizens after local authorities announced they would skip an environmental review for the construction of a vast AI data-processing center.

The news outlet obtained a letter from the acting manager of the province's approvals program in the Ministry of Environment's regulatory assurance section, Karen Tomashavsky. In it, she wrote that the project "is not a mandatory activity for the purposes of environmental assessment." 

Officials can reevaluate if new information comes to light. 

Documents indicate that the site is projected to use around 7.5 gigawatts of electricity when fully operational and will consume 24 million cubic meters of water annually. 

The company's initial announcements claimed it would use geothermal power and gas. 

However, emails obtained by Canada's National Observer through a Freedom of Information request indicate that the company favors using only natural gas. This decision could set the country back 20 years in reducing carbon pollution, according to analyst Will Noel. 

This all comes amid rising global concern about the resources required to run these centers and community pushback as tech companies build them rapidly. The area of the proposed data center in Alberta also experienced an agricultural disaster due to drought in 2025.

Many rural communities along the Little Smoky River, into which the Smoky River flows, have been under emergency alerts for low water pressure amid low winter flows and drought concerns. 

The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation filed documents last year voicing concerns about water availability after regulators granted a preliminary water license to O'Leary and two other companies to withdraw water from the river.

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"Kevin O'Leary is building the world's largest AI datacenter in Alberta Canada," Lance (@TheSerfsTV) wrote in a post to the social platform X. "It will consume 24 million cubic meters of water annually (460,000 people's lifetime consumption) and set back 20 years of carbon emission reductions (including all gains made by phasing out coal)."

"It will also use 10% of the natural gas supply in Alberta according to the project manager," a commenter added. 

"Not only that, the subsonic hum is devastating to animals and birds nearby," one more said. "People don't care about peregrine falcons, but they should care about nearby ranching, dairy and poultry operations."

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