Alberta regulator rejects gas plant for Olds data centre project

The Alberta Utilities Commission has denied an application by Synapse Real Estate Corp. to build a natural gas plant in Olds that would have powered a proposed 10-building data centre campus generating 1.4 gigawatts of electricity, roughly enough to power the City of Edmonton.

In its decision, the commission said the project would have been located too close to the surrounding community and that Synapse had failed to justify why it chose that site. The plan had drawn strong opposition from residents of Olds, a largely agricultural town, over its proximity to homes and businesses within town limits.

The Alberta government has been actively recruiting large tech companies to build data centres in the province, but has said it wants projects to supply their own power rather than draw heavily on the existing grid. The commission's mandate covers whether power infrastructure serves the public interest, while municipalities retain authority over zoning and land-use decisions for data centres themselves.

NDP technology critic Nathan Ip called on the premier to take responsibility for the outcome, saying the government's efforts to attract foreign investment had overlooked Albertans' concerns and put jobs and projects at risk. He said residents, landowners, families and Indigenous communities need to be properly consulted before such projects are approved and announced.