Two data centre facilities have been proposed for construction in Parkland County.
Earlier this month, Beacon Data Centers proposed a new project, the Beacon Hary Smith Artificial Intelligence Hub, within Parkland County.
“Parkland County’s world class energy sector, abundant resources and robust infrastructure – including substations and high-voltage transmission lines capable of supporting large-scale electrical loads – make Parkland County an attractive location for data centre operation,” county officials commented.
According to the Alberta Major Projects Dashboard, the facility would include 400 megawatts (MW) of on-site power generation capacity, along with other on-site data centre facilities.
The company is also considering similar projects near Saunders Lake and the Heartland region.
The Beacon Data Centers website says the project could create more than 1,500 construction jobs and up to 300 operational jobs.
More information will be available once the county receives a development application, it said.
Meantime, Parkland County previously made multiple Land Use Bylaw amendments to facilitate an earlier data centre proposal from TransAlta. The amendments allow for data processing facility uses near existing Sundance and Keephills power generating stations.
Next, TransAlta needs to apply for a Master Site Development Plan (MSDP) and a development permit, subject to county approval. Once the applications are received and the pre-application stage is finished, administration will provide a recommendation to council, which has the ultimate decision authority.
Updates to the project continue to be available online.
Data centres are subject to federal, provincial and municipal oversight.
As Parkland County explains, provincially, data centres must receive Alberta Electrical System Operator approvals to ensure they do not strain the power grid.
On a municipal level, development permits may require mitigation measures for nuisance factors like noise, light, environmental impact and more, as well.
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