Experts outline Nova Scotia data centre deal details that will make all the difference

The announcement last week that EverWind Fuels will be developing a data centre at its Point Tupper site has raised questions regarding what promises are enforceable and what benefits Nova Scotians will see. 

The green energy company is investing a total of $10 billion toward the proposed development, with $2 billion going toward onshore wind development. 

At the announcement, officials promised the projects would give back to nearby communities through tens of millions of dollars’ worth of community benefits, in addition to promising protections for power rates and water use. 

How effective the measures are, however, could depend on how involved area residents are in the process. 

Chad Walker, an assistant professor in Dalhousie University’s school of planning, said that while he sees benefits the project could bring, making sure they align with local priorities is critical for such a large development. 

Walker said that sometimes developers will put funding toward projects that look great on paper but aren’t actually what the community needs. 

“Like, ‘Here’s money for a public park’ and the community was OK with their public park, but they weren’t OK with their roads or maybe their arena,” he said.

“That’s where engagement really comes into play.” 

When it comes to how proposed community benefits will be allocated, Walker said the final decision should go to the communities.

“I would hope that the community would have a powerful voice in this conversation and shaping things,” he said. 

For Simon Enoch, senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the development addresses key concerns connected with data centres, including new wind power generation, closed-loop cooling systems and protections for power rates. 

However, he said promises from private companies are not the same as enforceable regulations. 

“Why not regulate to ensure that those best standards are in place not only for this data centre but for potentially any future data centres to come?”

Enoch said protections could include special rates for large energy users and an exit fee to make sure if a data centre leaves or shuts down, ratepayers are not on the hook for infrastructure costs. 

He also said that with a closed-loop system, there needs to be legislated transparency for water usage, including annual reporting on how much water is used by the facility.

At Friday’s announcement, EverWind said it would follow the federal government’s responsible data centre principles and the conditions set by the provincial government.  

Enoch said broad expectations don’t ensure developments will follow similar standards. 

“Maybe everything goes great . . . and all the promises come true about jobs and investment and all that sort of thing. Great, but you can’t secure that,” Enoch said. 

“If you want the highest standard data centres and you want to sort of maximize those benefits and mitigate the harms, you really need to . . . enshrine this sort of stuff in legislation.” 

Beyond economic and environmental impacts, the project has raised questions about data sovereignty. 

According to Enoch, Anthropic, a U.S. company, could be subject to the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act that allows U.S. authorities to compel companies to produce data regardless of where servers are located. 

So while this facility would be located in Nova Scotia, Enoch warned location doesn’t determine who has access. 

“If it is controlled by a U.S. company or a U.S. subsidiary, it can be compelled to turn over that data.”

As for what happens next, EverWind has said public engagement sessions for nearby communities will start in the coming weeks.

However, there are some who think more needs to be done before construction begins in Point Tupper. 

NDP Leader Claudia Chender put a video on social media Monday condemning the announced development, calling for an emergency session of the legislature. 

“This is a project taking place without consultations, without regulations and against the will of Nova Scotians,” Chender said.  

“The legislature is where we make decisions about important policy directions, not Facebook.” 

The premier’s office did not provide a comment.