Quinte West Council voted 8 to 5 against a 12-month moratorium on data centre development in the region on October 7.

Two data centres proposed for Quinte promise economic growth, but the implications for water use, infrastructure costs and long-term local benefits are still being assessed.

True North Sustainable Infrastructure is proposing an eight-megawatt data centre at the former Saputo property at 7 Riverside Drive, while First Block wants an 18-megawatt facility at the former Sonoco paper mill at 920 Trenton-Frankford Road.

The combined capacity of 26 megawatts (the theoretical maximum annual electricity use) is equivalent to what approximately 25,300 households use in a year. For perspective, that is more than double the number of households in Prince Edward County.

The projects are at different stages of the planning process. True North’s proposal requires a zoning change, while First Block’s is proceeding through site-plan review.

The proposals come amid a broader push by provincial and federal governments to attract data centre investment and expand Canada’s computing infrastructure.

The interest extends beyond Quinte West. Representatives from Amazon’s Web Services division held a meeting last month at The Royal Hotel in Picton to discuss opportunities for additional data centres in the region.

Developers are offering assurances about water, electricity, and other local impacts, but the extent of those commitments — and how they will be measured and enforced — is unclear.

The vote did not approve either facility; both proposals must continue through the planning processes. True North’s proposal requires a zoning change, with further technical studies to come during site-plan review if the rezoning proceeds. First Block has submitted a site plan, but its approval process is not complete.

Cooling the Concerns

The rapid expansion of data centres across Canada is bringing new scrutiny to the demands they bring to local infrastructure and resources. In Quinte West, residents say they did not know about the two proposed facilities until recently.

At the Council meeting, residents raised concerns about the lack of information available to assess the proposed data centres’ long-term impacts. The debate followed weeks of public opposition, including a Sept. 17 Planning Advisory Committee meeting in which dozens of residents spoke against the proposed Riverside Drive facility. 

Local media reported that residents questioned the project’s potential effects on water, noise, wildlife and electricity costs, while committee members said more complete information was needed before proceeding.

“We bought our house because it’s a quiet area,” said one resident. “It’s a great house. We love the community. This may destroy all of it. I want to live in this house for the next 60 years. I don’t want to have that down the road and suddenly, it ruins everything.”

Another resident questioned why the proposal was moving forward before regulations for the industry were more established.

“What’s the rush?” she asked. “Why do we need to do this right now? Can we not wait a little bit until things are more regulated?”

During a presentation to council, a local business representative said some residents he had spoken with felt “they didn’t have enough information.”

“We do not ask for an approval of the project, but merely for a vote of confidence towards the city planning staff,” said Vincent Paquette, co-founder of First Block.

Greg Stanway, chief technology officer for True North Sustainable Infrastructure, challenged concerns about data centre water consumption. He said that after speaking with about 200 people in the community, he had found that “people here were not angry, they were scared, and there was a lot of misinformation.”

“Data centers don’t use a huge amount of water. You just cannot do that in Canada,” he said. “That is not something that occurs. You can’t design to it. No engineer would sign off on it.”

But water use depends in part on how a data centre removes heat from its equipment. In a closed-loop system, coolant circulates through equipment and carries heat away, but the amount of water used by the facility also depends on how that heat is released.

A closed-loop system does not automatically mean a facility has no water requirements. True North Sustainable Infrastructure has described its proposed eight-megawatt facility as using dry cooling that would not draw on local water sources. First Block has said it would purchase water for its 18-megawatt facility rather than draw it from the Trent River.

The information publicly available so far does not establish either facility’s actual annual water use or provide a directly comparable estimate for the two projects.

The Jobs Pitch

Jobs were a central selling point in the debate over First Block’s proposed data centre at the former Sonoco paper mill on Trenton-Frankford Road.

At an October 2 media briefing, Trinity Smart Farms outlined plans for an agricultural operation at the former Sonoco property that would use recovered heat from First Block’s proposed data centre. The company said the farm’s first phase would employ about 50 people, with a second phase bringing the total to 174 direct jobs.

Those figures apply to the proposed farm, not First Block’s data centre. The agricultural operation is a separate development, and its projected employment should not be attributed to First Block’s facility.

The employment outlook for data centres themselves is more modest. Mr. Stanway noted that data centres are infrastructure projects rather than large-scale production facilities, and do not typically create many permanent jobs.

“When you build a road, a lot goes into it and then there’s only a few people that have to maintain it,” he said.

At the September meeting, a resident questioned whether the proposed development would deliver meaningful economic benefits to the community.

“Otherwise, I’m not seeing where the economic benefit actually comes from.”

Mr. Stanway estimated that True North’s proposed eight-megawatt facility would cost approximately $380 million to build and create about 100 construction jobs. He also pointed to the facility’s potential contribution to the municipal tax base and the skilled positions required to operate it.

Construction jobs, however, are temporary. At the former Sonoco property, the larger employment projection depends on Trinity Smart Farms’ separate agricultural proposal proceeding alongside First Block’s data centre. As of the October 7 council meeting, the farm’s final building plan had not been submitted.

Who pays for the power?

Both proposed facilities require substantial amounts of power. Residents asked whether the cost of connecting them to the grid could ultimately fall on ratepayers.

Mr. Stanway told council that Ontario’s Bill 40 protects electricity customers from footing the bill for data centres.

“No rate payer or citizen pays for the electrical costs for the data center,” he said, adding that developers must also pay for any upstream or downstream upgrades required to serve their facilities.

Transparency will be key. Residents need to know how the requirements apply to these projects and how compliance will be verified.

What Happens Next?

Quinte West is balancing the promise of private investment against questions about water, energy, employment, and the environment.

“We don’t base our decision on fear. We’ll base our decision on facts. And we’ll look at all the facts very carefully,” Mayor Jim Harrison said at the October 7 meeting.

Developers say their facilities will operate within existing standards and bring economic benefits. Residents want clearer information about what those promises mean in practice.

A Frankford resident told council that reassurance about health and environmental protection remained central to the debate.

“I think the vast majority of residents just need to know that our health and environment will be protected from harmful operations,” she said. “We have trust issues because for years our environment and our health were impacted by harmful operations.”

A local business representative asked: “what are the benefits for the residents, stakeholders and taxpayers of Quinte west?” He also questioned whether those benefits outweighed the potential risks to the community.

Beyond the immediate costs and benefits, there is a bigger question: what role will these facilities play in the long term, and what lasting value will they bring to the communities that host them?