In the days since it was announced, there has been plenty of debate surrounding the new AI data centre proposed for Point Tupper, N.S. “We have heard from thousands and thousands of Nova Scotians who are expressing – number one – that they are opposed to the project or that they just have a lot of questions,” said Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender. Chender said she has heard concerns about water use from people in the Strait area and from people all over the province about whether the 420-megawatt project at full development might impact their power bills. At the project announcement on Friday, there were assurances from proponent EverWind Fuels and the provincial government that electricity customers will not see rate hikes. “We believe that it is time for an emergency session of the Legislature so that Nova Scotians can get answers to their questions,” Chender said. Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak said it astounds him that the project went ahead without any legislative debate or public consultation. “We are simply being asked to trust the government in this case,” Urbaniak said. “I’m not sure the government even knows what it’s walking into.” Urbaniak added that a project of this size ought to have hard regulatory frameworks when it comes to environmental and power rate hike protection and what happens at the end of AI giant Anthropic’s 20-year lease. “So in 20 years when this is obsolete, who will actually be demolishing these installations or trying to fill them?” Urbaniak said. “And unless we have absolute assurances, it will probably be the people of Nova Scotia because it has always been the people of Nova Scotia.” At a news conference in Port Hood to announce the opening of a new hiking trail in the area, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Tim Halman was asked if there are any regulatory approval applications surrounding the EverWind data centre project. “There is currently an industrial approval application before the Department of Environment and Climate Change,” Halman said, adding that it has to do with the project’s diesel generators. Halman added that the province’s Large Industrial File Team (LIFT), which he said is already regulating EverWind’s wind turbines and green hydrogen production, will regulate the data centre development. “I can assure all Nova Scotians that decisions that are made are based on science, facts and the evidence,” Halman said. “We are the neutral regulator of industry here in Nova Scotia and we are ready to regulate.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
