A company has decided to cancel its proposal to construct a two-megawatt artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Armour Township, Ontario, due to public resistance. Almaguin Data, in a letter to the town council dated June 1, stated that without ownership of the land in the industrial park for the intended project, they faced limited options in addressing concerns raised by the public regarding environmental impacts.
The company explained that in cases where a developer owns the land, Ontario’s planning system offers avenues for recourse if approvals are unreasonably withheld or delayed, primarily through the Ontario Land Tribunal. However, lacking ownership of the land meant that such recourse was not available to them, putting at risk every dollar spent on studies if approvals did not materialize.
During a previous presentation to the town council, Almaguin Data’s founder, Matthew Fuller, mentioned that the project would have created initial employment for four individuals, with the potential to expand the workforce to between 10 and 12 employees as the project grew. The company had planned to invest between $15 to $20 million over a period of up to five years to expand the facility into a 10-megawatt data center, covering an area of approximately three hectares.
The primary concerns raised against the proposed data center were related to environmental issues. Jordan Gorlick, a resident of South River, Ontario, voiced her opposition to the project, particularly focusing on the projected water usage of the facility. Despite the company’s assurance that the data center would consume less than 10,000 liters of water per day, Gorlick expressed worries about the long-term environmental impact of constructing more data centers in Canada, emphasizing the finite nature of clean drinkable water as a critical resource.
Research from York University indicated that there are currently 96 “hyperscale” data centers in development in Canada, each with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more. This expansion has faced resistance from individuals concerned about the substantial water, electricity, and land requirements of these facilities. A petition against the Armour Township project amassed over 1,800 signatures online.