Proposed data centre would release ‘23 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs worth of energy’ a day, physicist says

An analysis of the mammoth data centre proposed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary suggests it would release the equivalent of 23 atom bombs of heat waste into the boreal forest of northwestern Alberta every day.

If the Wonder Valley project goes ahead, “‘about 23 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs worth of energy every single day will get dumped into that landscape,” said Utah State University physicist Robert Davies.

“The effect will almost certainly be large, if not extreme,” said Davies, who conducted a preliminary analysis for the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (SLCN) earlier this year. 

In September, the nation filed for a judicial review of the project’s exemption from a provincial environmental impact assessment.

“I can’t imagine allowing it to go forward without those full assessments,” Davies said, describing the project’s potential to be “the largest single-site heat source on the entire planet.”

O’Leary Digital Limited’s $70-billion data centre is proposed for the Municipal District of Greenview, south of Grande Prairie and roughly 130 kilometres southwest of SLCN’s reserve, in the First Nation’s traditional territory.

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At full operation, it would release around 18 gigawatts of heat a day and about 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year — more than four per cent of Canada’s total emissions, said Davies, whose assessment was based on publicly available information.

“When people talk about environmental regulations that these projects have to adhere to, those regulations were not created with anything of this scale in mind.” 

SLCN filed the judicial review application in September and requested another review in court last month to demand more consultation before the project can go ahead.

Wonder Valley’s unprecedented scale warrants more rigorous discussion, said SLCN’s lawyer, Orlagh O’Kelly.

In a Oct. 30 statement, Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas said it followed the established legal process to determine that no environmental impact assessment (EIA) was required for the project. 

EIAs “are typically required when a project, or components of a project, involve technologies or systems with unknown environmental impacts. In this case, the project uses standard, proven power and water systems that have been safely used in Alberta for decades,” the statement said.

“Even when an EIA is not triggered, proponents must still obtain all required permits, provide detailed technical assessments on impacts to air, land, and water, and demonstrate the project can be built and operated safely before any project can proceed.”

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The permitting process can’t measure the entire impact of a project, Davies countered. 

“Permits check the parts. An assessment checks the whole. A project this size is exactly what assessments are for.”

The Ministry of Indigenous Relations said it is unable to comment on the review regarding consultation, while the matter is before the courts.

Along with the province, the M.D of Greenview and O’Leary Digital are also named as respondents in SLCN’s filings.

“We also respect the robust and stringent regulatory process we must follow in advancing Wonder Valley,” O’Leary Digital CEO Paul Palandjian wrote in an Oct. 27 email. “Meanwhile, we’re having productive dialogue with Indigenous communities through consultation and engagement, and we remain committed to that work.”

Greenview Reeve Ryan Ratzlaff said the district always pursues development in a “responsible, respectful and collaborative manner,” noting that environmental oversight and Indigenous consultation fall under the purview of the Alberta government.

A new sign, installed earlier this year, sits along Highway 40 at the entrance to the Greenview Industrial Gateway which would be the home of Wonder Valley if the project is green-lit. (Eagle Andersen/CBC)

SLCN is also in the midst of another court battle with O’Leary Digital, after a judge dismissed the company’s bid to strike down a judicial review on consultation and water rights, which initially went in the nation’s favour.

O’Kelly said the current system forces First Nations to file legal challenges to be heard, calling it “deliberately bifurcated and piecemeal.”

Chief Sheldon Sunshine said SLCN has built productive relationships with other oil and gas developers, but the nation’s experience with Wonder Valley has been difficult  since it was announced.

“If anybody’s to learn anything about this — this is the project that went the absolute wrong way.”