The Alberta Utilities Commission has denied an application to build a natural gas plant that would have powered a massive data centre complex in the small agricultural town of Olds, Alta.
Synapse Real Estate Corp. had proposed a 10-building campus with 1.4 gigawatts of power generation — about enough to power the city of Edmonton.
The plan also included 1.8 gigawatts of emergency and backup diesel generation.
But the commission, in a decision published Monday, said the site won’t work.
“The project is too close to the surrounding community, and Synapse failed to demonstrate any compelling justification for selecting that location,” the commission said.
“The site is simply not suitable for the proposed development.”
Many residents in the town of 10,000 voiced fervent opposition to the project within town limits.
They are concerned about noise, pollution, home values, safety and strain on local health care and emergency services.
Olds is 80 kilometres north of Calgary.
The commission noted strong local interest. It said it had received applications from about 1,500 parties wanting to participate in hearings. It granted standing to more than 900.
Typical proceedings would attract a few hundred applicants.
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The Alberta government has been courting big tech companies to set up shop in the province but is prioritizing projects that provide their own power for their data centres in order to not overburden the grid.
Data centres house computer servers and other hardware needed to power many facets of technology.
With the advent of artificial intelligence and the enormous processing power needed to train and run large language models, questions are being raised over whether they are worth the environmental impact and electricity demand.
The commission is tasked with determining whether the accompanying power infrastructure is in the public interest, but decisions around zoning and land use for data centres fall to municipalities.
The town government has seen data centre development as an opportunity for increased tax revenue and local employment.
It said it had not received a development permit application from Synapse.
“Throughout this process, the town has maintained that development must meet the required safety, environmental and regulatory standards before it can proceed,” the town said on its website Monday.
“The AUC’s review is an important part of those checks and balances, and we respect its decision.”
In a statement emailed to Global News, Synapse confirmed “the project in Olds will not proceed as proposed,” but added “our commitment to Alberta remains steadfast.”
Describing what it called the “extraordinary potential for the data centre industry in Alberta,” the company said it will consider future opportunities in the province as we assess the best path forward,” and added that “any next steps will be guided by continued engagement with regulators, municipalities, community members and the provincial government.”
Synapse has 30 days to appeal the Alberta Utilities Commission’s decision.
The proposed development of data centres has stoked considerable consternation in parts of Alberta.
Meta Platforms Inc., the tech titan behind Facebook and Instagram, announced plans last month to build a $13-billion data centre complex in Sturgeon County, north of Edmonton.
It would be linked up to an adjacent power plant to be built by Pembina Pipeline Corp., Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management.
Hundreds of people gathered outside of Sturgeon County’s office earlier this month to protest the Meta data centre plant.
Last month, a rural municipality bordering Calgary voted to pause new data centre proposals while the Rocky View County government works to pin down the rules that apply to such projects.
The provincial government has announced it is holding a series of town halls in the coming weeks to gauge residents’ views on data centre development.
Data Centre Protests. Brought by the same ignorant folks the said 5G was evil and would cause the sky to fall.
You do know that with no data centre, that thing in your hand that controls your life will no workee….. You will have to think for yourselves. oh the horror…. LOL
We don’t want data centres! AI is an unchecked scourge on society that has been prioritized for commercialization instead of used with care to solve complex problems, despite the significant environmental impact.
If our electrical grid is too sensitive to handle renewable energy generation how would it be able to handle all the plants needed to fuel these immoral monstrosities?
Someone will always make sure we miss the boat. If we don’t build data centres, some other jurisdictions will.
Oh yes, there is no pollution from these sites. At least no more then any large bulding causes
Again, here come the stupid reasons to protest. Let me clarify for you.
You will not hear the natural gas generators. Yes, the diesel backups can be loud. As for the electrical grid, no impact.
As for home value impact, no more then if a large warehouse was built.
Health and emergency services? Data Centres do not use those. They are electronic.
I am sure all these rubes would be more than then happy if something like an Amazon Fulfillment centre was being built.
I would say the charge to protest is being lead by the same Dweebs that believed 5G was evil.
A good place for an AI data center is near dying or dead towns.
There are few people near Wishart, Saskatchewan anymore….like 15 people left. It would be a boon for such a place. Or not. But there are basic utilities, some housing and infrastructure…enough for the 15 people the center would employ.
What about that coal mining town the ndp killed by baning coal fired electricity generation?
Kudos on doing the right thing, for a change
There is plenty of space in the far north of Alberta away from large residential areas. Build them there. They also have longer winters, so less cooling required.
Never understood why they wanted to build it so close to Olds.