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A mega data center backed by Kevin O'Leary is set to become the largest single heat source on Earth. Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary is facing intense scrutiny over a proposed $70 billion mega data center project in Alberta, Canada. Known as the Wonder Valley development, a preliminary analysis by Utah State University physicist Robert Davies reveals that the massive 18-gigawatt facility would dump approximately 1.5 petajoules of thermal energy into the surrounding environment daily. This staggering output equals the thermal energy released by roughly 23 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs every 24 hours. While Davies clarified that this metric measures pure thermodynamic heat transfer rather than nuclear explosions or blast damage, the sheer concentration of localized energy represents an unprecedented environmental footprint. Conducted on behalf of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation—whose traditional territory encompasses the project site—the assessment also estimates the facility will generate 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, accounting for over 4% of Canada's total emissions. Because data center servers convert virtually all consumed electricity into waste heat that must be actively dissipated to prevent overheating, operating at such an astronomical scale poses severe ecological risks to localized ecosystems. As tech companies scramble to build massive infrastructure to power the next generation of artificial intelligence, the Wonder Valley project highlights growing global friction between rapid AI expansion, indigenous land rights, and environmental preservation. source: Davies, R. (2026). Technical Assessment of the Proposed Wonder Valley Data Center Project. Utah State University.