County exploring land redesignation to allow for data centre construction

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County is exploring the potential to see a nearly 600-acre data centre constructed within the local region.

The July 7 meeting of council offered council an opportunity to hear from the applicant, Diode Ventures, regarding the current state of their proposal, as well as from the local constituents who may be affected by the development. 

Members of the public were granted an opportunity to make their voices heard by council, both in sending letters ahead of the meeting, and via presentation in person. 

Over 100 letters were received by the county, of which, the vast majority decried the data centre proposal. In person, one constituent presented in favour, followed by 24 speaking in opposition. 

 “At this point in time, I do not think that the applicant has demonstrated enough technical expertise on a number of factors – so groundwater impact, environmental impact, noise impact, impact to livestock – for this application to proceed, because I think the onus is on the applicant to prove that there will not be an impact to those residents, not on the residents to prove there has been an impact,” said Heidi Pratt, co-owner of Infinity Equine.

“I believe this stuff needs to be established ahead of time, not after the fact. In their proposal, they state that the facility will be primarily air cooled, which comes with its own implications and risks to horses and livestock that are sensitive to noise, but regulating the water, they say that while they are not going to use it, they might.”

Diode Ventures, in the current iteration of their application, proposes the use of a closed loop cooling system so as to lessen the impact of their facility on local water supplies and quality. 

Pratt explained systems such as these must still be initially primed for use. The water for this purpose was not indicated as to where it would come from, nor how much of it would be required. 

The land is proposed at this time to be changed from Agriculture General district to Industrial General district and falls within the Goldfinch Industrial Area Structure Plan (ASP). 

Specifically, the area outlined falls immediately south of Township Road 222, and west of Highway 24.

The ASP was adopted in 2018 with intent for the region to see occupation by industrial use; however, at the time, data centre construction and their operations were not considered as an applicable use case. 

As it is proposed, the project aims to proceed with the construction of a total 3.5 million square feet across multiple individual structures. 

In addition to the land use, a four-acre section of Range Road 264 has been suggested for closure in order to consolidate the land ownership and use for the facilities. 

Heather Gagne, who resides less than three kilometers from the proposed subject lands, expressed concern over the livelihood, livestock, and ability to retire of herself and her neighbours due to their proximity. 

“If you have these kinds of data centres that are impacting our livestock, that can impact how we can go use our horses in (events such as the Calgary Stampede),” she said. “Some of our commercial people who are there, Infinity Equine, Equine Connection, these are their livelihoods. If you start impacting their horses, if you start impacting how those horses behave with little kids or with clients, you lose your business.”

She added Range Road 264 is currently a primary access point for her which allows the towing of horses on the highway.

With the amount of anticipated increased and redirected traffic over the construction period, she worries for her own safety, as well as that of neighbours and incoming drivers. 

Due to publication deadlines, the printed iteration of this article was distributed prior to the county making any vote on the July 7 discussion. 

Coverage of this story will continue online and in print as more space and time is able to be allocated.