DC DataCentreDebate.ca

Same bar for every project

Projects: what has actually been proposed

Meta is only one example. Every AI/data centre proposal should clear the same public test: power, water, noise, land, ownership, benefit, and cleanup.

How I’m reading these

These are not regulatory rulings. They are a public-record review based on what is available. Lack of public documentation is not proof the project is fake. It means the public should not be asked to rely on promises alone.

Pass

Public record answers the basic question.

Conditional

Some good disclosure, but key commitments need enforcement.

Incomplete

May be real. Public detail is not yet sufficient.

Insufficient public record

The public claims are larger than the public documentation.

Alberta

Same checklist. Different projects. Scores reflect the current public record and can change when documents or commitments change.

Conditional pass

Meta — Sturgeon County

The clearest public disclosure so far, but not a free pass.

7.5/10

What they got right

  • Project scale and location are public.
  • Closed-loop liquid cooling with dry cooling is stated publicly.
  • Greenlight, Capital Power, AltaLink, AESO, and other partners are named.
  • Public reporting on water and energy is promised once operational.
  • Greenlight's AUC approval now includes binding power-plant reclamation-security conditions backed by updated third-party cost estimates.

What still needs proof

  • Binding Alberta benefit, not press-release benefit.
  • Independent monitoring with real access to numbers.
  • Clear interim power plan before dedicated generation is fully online.
  • Full water balance including power generation.
  • Full-campus cleanup security. Greenlight now has binding power-plant security, but it starts in year five and we have not found equivalent secured cleanup funding for Meta's data-centre campus.
Open The META CampusCompare cooling options

My read: Meta is not the worst-disclosed project. It may be the clearest one. But clear marketing is not the same as enforceable public protection.

DQ pending disclosure

Wonder Valley — Greenview / Grande Prairie area

A massive proposal with too much redacted paperwork, process fog, and “trust us” for the scale being promoted.

1/10

What is public

  • The project is promoted as a very large, multi-gigawatt AI campus tied to the Greenview Industrial Gateway.
  • Public descriptions include off-grid power, natural gas, geothermal language, major land use, and very large capital claims.
  • Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has raised serious concerns around water licensing, consultation, and impacts to Treaty and traditional-use interests.
  • Recent reporting says O’Leary Digital tried to stop SLCN’s judicial review before the real hearing, and the court allowed the review to continue.

Why it drops to 1/10

  • A project this large should not be advanced through redacted agreements, unclear control, or procedural games.
  • If the developer is involved enough to fight the judicial review, the developer is involved enough to put the full plan on the table.
  • The water licence, consultation record, ownership/control trail, power plan, environmental work, and Canadian benefit remain too unclear.
  • At this scale, “trust us” is not a plan. Big money does not replace due diligence.

My read: Wonder Valley is DQ until the real plan is on the table. It can come back onto the scoreboard when the full water, power, consultation, ownership, environmental, and public-benefit record is public enough to test.

Fails the siting/process test for now

Little Bow / Travers Reservoir — Vulcan County

A proposed 2 GW AI campus beside a major southern Alberta water and recreation resource, now past rezoning but not yet at the development-permit stage.

2/10

What is public

  • Vulcan County Council approved Bylaw 2026-007 on June 17, 2026, redesignating 594.55 acres of Section 14-15-21 W4 from Rural General to Rural Industrial.
  • Council amended the rezoning area before final approval. Earlier County material described an approximately 850–865 acre rezoning request; the final approved area is 594.55 acres.
  • The rezoning does not approve a data centre. It allows an application for a Development Permit for Data Processing Operations and supporting infrastructure. Vulcan County says no such development permit has been received or approved.
  • The Palliser Grid concept package describes an ultimate build-out of up to 2,000 MW IT in four phases, an on-site 500 kV / 2 GW substation, water planned from Travers Reservoir through BRID, on-site wastewater treatment and reuse, battery storage, and emergency diesel generation.
  • The Little Bow AI Data Centre Committee says it is seeking judicial review of Council's rezoning decision. The Court has not determined the merits of that challenge.

Why it fails for now

  • The central question is siting: a very large industrial load is proposed near Travers Reservoir and established agricultural and recreational uses.
  • The project's own concept material identifies Travers Reservoir as the planned water source, so the water balance, drought assumptions, reuse system, blowdown, residuals, and licence implications need to be explicit before a development permit is approved.
  • The detailed studies that matter most — formal noise impact assessment, traffic, drainage, final water design, emergency planning, transmission arrangements, lighting, and other permit-specific engineering — were intentionally deferred to the development-permit and provincial approval stages.
  • The rezoning decision is now under a stated judicial-review challenge, which should be tracked as a process issue without treating the allegations as proven.

My read: The rezoning is real, but the data centre is not approved. This is exactly where scrutiny should be strongest: before the development permit, while the location, water plan, infrastructure, mitigation, and public protections can still be tested properly.

Power plant denied by AUC

Synapse — Olds

The regulator denied the power-plant application and said the site is simply not suitable for the proposed development.

1/10

What changed

  • On August 17, 2026, the Alberta Utilities Commission denied Synapse's power-plant application.
  • The application was for an approximately 1,400 MW combined-cycle natural-gas plant plus 1,800 MW of emergency/backup diesel generation to power the on-site data centre load.
  • The AUC found the project was too close to the surrounding community and that Synapse had not shown a compelling reason for choosing this location.
  • The AUC said the site is simply not suitable for the proposed power-plant development. It also noted that it does not approve or regulate data centres themselves.

Why it drops to 1/10

  • The core problem was always location. The power-plant regulator has now rejected that location for this proposed development.
  • Dry cooling, Canadian leadership, and a real application do not cure a bad site.
  • If Synapse still wants to build, the credible path is not more spin. It is a better industrial location and a clean new application.
  • Wrong place. Move it.

My read: Synapse is not DQ because data centres are impossible. It is at 1/10 because this Olds power-plant location failed the public-interest test. Bring the project back only if the site problem is fixed.

Incomplete / mixed

Beacon Data Centers — Alberta portfolio

Several project listings contain real details, but portfolio language cannot replace site-by-site documentation.

5/10

Why it is not just vapour

  • Multiple Alberta Major Projects listings exist.
  • Some site, capacity, power, and building details are public.
  • On-site power is acknowledged in some listings.
  • The projects are specific enough to demand local review.

What is missing

  • Each site needs its own power, water, noise, land-use, and public-benefit disclosure.
  • Large capacity numbers need large transparency commitments.
  • Independent monitoring and cleanup security need to be explicit.
  • Portfolio-level claims should not blur local impacts.

My read: Incomplete, not dismissed. The more sites in the portfolio, the less acceptable it is to answer questions at portfolio altitude.

Mixed

Crusoe / Kalina Distributed Power — Alberta framework

A clearer power model than some proposals, but local impacts still require local documentation.

5/10

What looks clearer

  • The link between compute load and gas-fired generation is explicit.
  • The long-term power-purchase structure is identified publicly.
  • It does not hide the fact that power is part of the project.

What still needs proof

  • Specific locations, water balances, noise studies, and local impacts.
  • Who pays for public infrastructure and grid effects.
  • Canadian benefit, procurement, monitoring, and cleanup security.
  • How much value remains in Alberta after construction.

My read: “Build your own power” answers one question. It does not answer land, water, noise, public benefit, ownership, or cleanup.

Across Canada

Every project currently listed on the map is scored against the same public-record checklist. A low score means the public documentation is weak, incomplete, or unresolved. It does not prove the project is fake.

7.5 · Conditional pass

Meta Sturgeon Data Centre

Meta · AB · 1 GW, with public reporting that it could scale higher

Strongest public disclosure so far. Greenlight now has binding power-plant reclamation security; full-campus security, enforceable public benefit, independent monitoring and final water-source disclosure remain incomplete.

Source
1 · DQ pending disclosure

Wonder Valley AI Data Centre Park

O’Leary Ventures · AB · Phase 1 described with a 1.4 GW off-grid power system; full build-out promoted as much larger

Score dropped because the public record now includes serious transparency and process concerns around the water licence, consultation, redacted agreements, project control, and attempts to stop SLCN’s judicial review before the real hearing.

Source
2 · Fails siting/process test

Little Bow / Travers Reservoir AI Campus

Palliser Grid / Yetwood Farms Ltd. land · AB · Up to 2,000 MW IT in four phases

Rezoning of 594.55 acres was approved June 17, 2026, but no data-centre development permit has been received or approved. A residents' committee says it is seeking judicial review.

Source
1 · Power plant denied

Synapse Olds Data Centre

Synapse Real Estate Corp. · AB · 1 GW data centre + 1.4 GW on-site power proposal

The AUC denied the power-plant application on August 17, 2026, finding the proposed power-plant site too close to the surrounding community and not suitable for the proposed development.

Source
4 · Incomplete

Beacon Foothills AI Data Center Hub

Beacon Data Centers · AB · Part of Beacon Alberta portfolio

Listed project with some public detail; still needs site-specific power, water, cooling, land, noise, benefit, and cleanup documentation.

Source
4 · Incomplete

Beacon Indus Data Center Hub

Beacon Data Centers · AB · Part of Beacon Alberta portfolio

Listed project with some public detail; still needs site-specific power, water, cooling, land, noise, benefit, and cleanup documentation.

Source
4 · Incomplete

Beacon Heartland AI Data Center Hub

Beacon Data Centers · AB · Public listing references 960 MWe capability

Listed project with capacity language; cumulative Heartland impacts and site-specific commitments need much more public documentation.

Source
4 · Incomplete

Beacon Saunders Lake AI Data Center Hub

Beacon Data Centers · AB · Part of Beacon Alberta portfolio

Listed project with some public detail; still needs site-specific power, water, cooling, land, noise, benefit, and cleanup documentation.

Source
4 · Incomplete

Beacon Harry Smith AI Data Center Hub

Beacon Data Centers · AB · Part of Beacon Alberta portfolio

Listed project with some public detail; still needs site-specific power, water, traffic, land, noise, benefit, and cleanup documentation.

Source
5 · Mixed

Crusoe / Kalina AI Data Centre — Myers

Crusoe AI / Kalina Distributed Power · AB · Co-located with 170 MW gas-fired power plant concept

Power model is clearer than many proposals, but local water, noise, land, emissions, public benefit, and cleanup still need site-specific proof.

Source
5 · Mixed

Crusoe / Kalina AI Data Centre — Alsike

Crusoe AI / Kalina Distributed Power · AB · Co-located with 170 MW gas-fired power plant concept

Power model is clearer than many proposals, but local water, noise, land, emissions, public benefit, and cleanup still need site-specific proof.

Source
5 · Mixed

Crusoe / Kalina AI Data Centre — Crossfield

Crusoe AI / Kalina Distributed Power · AB · Co-located with 170 MW gas-fired power plant concept

Power model is clearer than many proposals, but local water, noise, land, emissions, public benefit, and cleanup still need site-specific proof.

Source
3 · Needs documentation

Technologies New Energy & Data District — Phase 1

Technologies New Energy · AB · Phase 1 public listing: four projects, combined 240 MW

Multi-site proposal with limited public detail; needs project-level answers before it can be judged fairly.

Source
3 · Needs documentation

Mihta Askiy Data Centre

Cree Ative Datacenter / Sovereign Digital Infrastructure · AB · Natural-gas-powered data centre concept

Important partnership claims may matter, but power, water, ownership, local benefit, monitoring, and cleanup details are not yet clear enough.

Source
6 · Conditional

TELUS Kamloops AI Factory

TELUS · BC · Part of TELUS B.C. sovereign AI cluster

Better public-interest framing and sovereign-AI story, but local power, water/cooling, heat, noise, and reporting still need project detail.

Source
6 · Conditional

TELUS M3 Vancouver AI Factory

TELUS / Westbank · BC · Part of cluster scaling above 150 MW by 2032

Urban sovereign-AI facility with a clearer public-interest frame; still needs local impact, power, heat, and reporting detail.

Source
5 · Conditional / incomplete

TELUS 150 West Georgia AI Factory

TELUS / Westbank · BC · Part of B.C. sovereign AI cluster

Planned urban facility; public-interest story exists, but site-specific power, heat, emergency, and civic-impact detail is still limited.

Source
6 · Conditional

Bell AI Fabric Merritt

Bell Canada / BUZZ HPC · BC · BUZZ secured 5 MW critical IT power with room to expand

Smaller scale and Canadian/sovereign framing help, but power, cooling, local reporting, and expansion impacts still need detail.

Source
6 · Conditional

Bell AI Fabric Sherwood

Bell Canada · SK · 300 MW AI data centre outside Regina

Large Saskatchewan project with public announcement and IAAC file; still needs full local water, power, land, noise, and cleanup commitments.

Source
4 · Incomplete

Bell AI Fabric / CentrePort Winnipeg

Bell Canada · MB · Industrial-site conversion linked to Bell AI Fabric

Industrial conversion is relevant, but public project documentation is not yet enough for a strong score.

Source
7 · Conditional pass

QScale Q01 Campus — Building B

QScale · QC · 60 MW additional AI-ready capacity in Lévis

Stronger public story around hydro, AI/HPC, liquid cooling, and heat reuse; still needs local commitments and reporting detail.

Source
6 · Conditional

TELUS Rimouski AI Factory

TELUS · QC · Part of TELUS sovereign AI factory network

Sovereign-AI framing and smaller scale help; local impact details still determine the public-interest case.

Source
5 · Mixed

HIVE / BUZZ Grand Falls Data Centre

HIVE Digital Technologies / BUZZ HPC · NB · Public release references 50 MW Tier III HPC capacity

HPC/sovereign-AI pivot is relevant, but crypto/HPC history and public-impact details deserve careful tracking.

Source

Sources and notes