Alberta Utilities Commission Rejects Power Plant for Olds, Alta., Data Centre Plan
Ottawa has pledged $2.3 billion for AI initiatives as communities question energy use, water demand and local benefits.
- The Alberta Utilities Commission denied an application from Synapse Real Estate Corp. to build a natural gas plant in Olds, Alta., intended to power a massive data centre complex.
- Facing fervent opposition from residents, the commission determined the project was too close to the surrounding community and that Synapse failed to justify the chosen location.
- Synapse had proposed a 10-building campus with 1.4 gigawatts of power, amid Ottawa's broader $2.3-billion plan for AI initiatives including $700-million to subsidize large-scale data centres.
- While Meta plans a $13-billion-plus Sturgeon Data Centre, communities such as Oakville, Ont., have introduced moratoriums to study the impacts of these facilities.
- The Alberta government is prioritizing projects that provide their own power to avoid overburdening the grid, as reporters Joe Castaldo and Joe Friesen prepare to answer reader questions on Thursday, Aug. 20.
25 Articles
25 Articles
AI project setback: Olds mayor, resident voice views on AUC denial
A major hurdle for a proposed data centre at the town of Olds in central Alberta comes as relief for some, but a missed opportunity for others. The Alberta Utilities Commission has rejected construction of a natural gas power plant that would fuel a proposed $10-billion data centre, a project that the town’s mayor was […]
Alberta’s Utilities Commission Rejects Power Plant for Proposed AI Data Centre in Olds
The Alberta Utilities Commission has rejected Synapse Real Estate Corp.’s application to construct a natural gas power plant to power a large proposed AI data centre campus in the small town of Olds, Alta. Synapse had proposed a 10-building artificial intelligence (AI) data centre campus with 1.4 gigawatts of onsite natural gas power, as well as 1.8 gigawatts of diesel power for emergency use and backup. However, in its Aug. 17 rejection, the A…
Data centre CEO remains high on Alberta
Synapse Data Centre Inc. CEO Jason van Gaal remains bullish on Alberta’s data centre potential despite a recent setback. On Monday, Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) announced it had rejected an application under Synapse Real Estate Corp. to build a 1.4-gigawatt natural gas-fired power plant necessary to support a two million-square-foot data centre at the northeast edge of Olds. In its decision, AUC said the site was too close to homes and bus…
Bowen Island Undercurrent
'Not suitable': Utilities commission rejects power plant for Olds, Alta., data centre
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.
Global News
The Hamilton Spectator‘Not suitable’: Utilities commission rejects power plant for Olds, Alta., data centre
A setback for plans to build a massive data centre complex near Olds, Alta. after the Alberta Utilities Commission denied an application to build a huge natural gas power plant .
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