Letter sent November 10, 2026 to the Government of Alberta Ministers of Environment and Protected Areas & Affordability and Utilities.

The Southern Alberta Group for the Environment (SAGE) is concerned about what appears to be an ill-considered decision to embrace the construction of large data centres in the province. The Government of Alberta has stated that the province is to “become a global leader in AI data center operations”, offering “advantages such as power generating capabilities, abundant natural resources, a cold climate, low corporate taxes, and reduced red tape.” Under the UCP government, the notion of ‘reduced red tape’ has meant regulatory retreat from robust environmental impact assessment and from monitoring and enforcing compliance with environmental law and policy.

There are a number of emerging issues with the rapid development of large data centres. These include: energy consumption (and associated emissions of greenhouse gases); water consumption (and pollution); changes in land-use; as well as noise and light pollution. We wondered what an AI query would answer to the question: “What should a government be concerned about with the construction of large data centres?” Here is what was generated …

• Cost Shifting – Will the data centre shift electricity costs, grid upgrade expenses, or transmission fees onto residential and small-business ratepayers?
• Power source – Is the facility bringing its own dedicated, on-site power generation. If it uses the public grid initially, for how long and how will price spikes be prevented?
• Total Power Capacity – What specific grid upgrades are required to support the full build-out capacity of a data centre?
• Water Consumption – How much water will the facility consume daily, where will the water be sourced from, and will usage and wastewater discharge be publicly disclosed?
• Emissions and Noise – What ground-level pollution (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, and fine particulate matter) will be generated by on-site power generation? [SAGE note: Too bad the Government of Alberta terminated the highly effective Clean Air Strategic Alliance …] What quantity of greenhouse gas emissions will be produced? What are the projected noise levels at property lines? What are the impacts of traffic and construction on noise and air pollution?
• Public Subsidies – What specific financial incentives (tax breaks, land costs reductions, power subsidies, or regulatory relief) have been offered to the developers?
• Net Revenue – What is the projected annual tax, utility fee contribution, etc., and how will those revenues be shared between provincial and local municipal governments?
• Local Service Costs – Will local taxpayers be expected to provide service roads, water, or emergency services without adequate cost recovery provisions from the developer?
• Traffic and Construciton – How will heavy traffic, road wear, and noise impact local populations during construciton?
• Long-term Jobs – How may permanent, long-term operational jobs will be created after construction finishes?
• Decommissioning & Liability – What binding remediation and financial assurances are in place should the data centre shut down or the corporation abandons the infrastructure?

SAGE might add, more specifically regarding environmental issues:

• How does the Government of Alberta propose to meet (realistically) our net-zero emission targets for 2050 considering the massive energy demand from data centres? 
• The Government of Alberta has limited the use of Class 1 and 2 agricultural land for renewable energy projects. Will this same policy be applied to data centres?
• Will the Government of Alberta restrict water abstractions from basins closed to new licenses? Will wastewater contaminants be monitored and controlled to protect aquatic ecosystems?

SAGE and The Cloud have a lot of questions about the 12 GW of data centres being considered in Alberta – a scale so massive that it would almost doubling the current capacity of electricity generation in the province.

The potential economic, social and environmental implications of restriction-free development of data centres in the province should be alarming enough to require robust stakeholder engagement and the assessment of potential cumulative impacts. Local and regional environmental impact and cumulative effects assessments should be mandatory for each project proposed.

We look forward to hearing how the Government of Alberta has addressed the public good and the health of the environment in their decision-making process regarding data-centres.