Nova Scotia’s EverWind proposes $10-billion AI data centre in Cape Breton

A company pursuing an ambitious wind and hydrogen development in Nova Scotia says it now has plans for a $10-billion AI data centre in southern Cape Breton.

EverWind Fuels said an unnamed “leading frontier AI developer” has signed a 20-year lease for a 18,600-square metre data centre in Point Tupper, N.S., that would draw 95 megawatts of electricity during its first phase. It would come online late next year.

A 325-megawatt expansion is expected in 2028, which would bring the development’s total energy demand to 420 megawatts, the company said.

A statement from the company described the proposed project as the largest private investment in Nova Scotia’s history.

“You often hear that Canada is a resource economy, (but) it’s also an intellectual economy,” EverWind CEO Trent Vichie told a news conference in Point Tupper on Friday.

“And we need this type of investment to support that part of the equation. They both play off each other very well, resources and knowledge. And Canadians have that in spades.”

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EverWind said the plan includes $8-billion to build a data centre campus and $2-billion to advance onshore wind energy projects, creating 2,000 construction jobs and 215 permanent positions.

Company officials said the project’s wind farms won’t be ready by the time the data centre is expected to open in late 2027, but they said the province’s independent grid operator has produced a study saying existing energy infrastructure can support the operation.

Premier Tim Houston said the data centre project was a major vote of confidence in the rural area about 200 kilometres east of Halifax. He said Canada does not have enough secure data infrastructure to meet the requirements of its businesses, governments and health-care institutions.

“This represents the connection between the high-technology possibilities and potential of our province, and the energy generation potential that we have,” said Houston, who is also promoting an ambitious $60-billion offshore wind project called Wind West.

Data centres are typically massive operations that require immense amounts of electricity to run and cool off computer servers.

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EverWind said it will protect the province’s electricity users from price hikes.

Water from nearby Landrie Lake will be used to cool the data centre’s servers, and the company stressed it will safeguard the water supply.

NDP Opposition Leader Claudia Chender issued a statement Friday calling on Houston to protect the public from power rate shocks from data centres.

“The Houston government is supporting this project without any discussion, consultation, legislation or regulations,” Chender said. “The premier is saying people should just trust his word that Nova Scotians will be protected.”