Rocky View County is asking residents how it should manage data-centre development as the municipality deals with existing facilities and several large proposals at different stages of the planning and approval process. The county is holding five open houses as part of its Emerging Sector Strategy, which is examining where data centres could be located, what size of developments may be appropriate and what municipal rules should apply. The third session is being held Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Track Golf Course in Langdon. The consultation is not a vote on whether an individual data-centre project should be approved. Instead, the county is asking residents about broader planning issues, including the location and scale of developments and standards dealing with water, stormwater, noise, emissions, traffic and site design. “(We’re) looking at how, if we are to bring data centers into the county, where they should go and how we should manage them?” said Dominic Kazmierczak, Rocky View County’s executive director of community services. “I wouldn’t say that council has set a position yet, but (that we are) looking at how to manage data centers effectively.” Rocky View County commissioned a research report as part of the strategy. It examines data-centre development and issues including land use, infrastructure, agriculture, water, economics and municipal policy. Kazmierczak says water use has already emerged as an issue for residents. “Water usage is a massive concern of residents, and that’s what we’ve heard previously,” he said. “Obviously, then there’s noise and air quality impacts as well from data centers, so we’re really looking (at) how to manage that.” Those concerns were also raised by people attending the Langdon open house. Wayne Edwards said he is concerned about whether the area has the infrastructure needed to support the proposed Wild Rose Power Hub. “I’m worried about the water. I’m worried about the wastewater. We already declined a new subdivision because the county said we don’t have the infrastructure for the new development. So how do we have it for a data center?” he said. Edwards also raised concerns about noise and the loss of agricultural land. Mary Lee Wilkie questioned why so many data centres are being proposed. “In general, I’m just telling you, we do not need so many. Why do we need so many of them set up in Alberta, in Canada? Why? Nobody answers that question,” she said. Hugh Wilkie, however, said he supports data-centre development and believes it could help the local tax base. “It’s going to keep my taxes in Langdon low,” he said. Similar issues were reflected in comments from people who attended the first of the county’s five open houses, held Sept. 29 at the Balzac Community Hall as well. Mona Levitt, who travelled from the Innisfail-Olds area, said her concerns were particularly focused on hyperscale data centres. “I don’t agree with hyperscale data centers. They’re too large. They emit too much sound. There’s the heat dome, light dome. There’s water use,” she said. “I don’t really see the need for the hyperscale AI data centers.” Her husband, Larry Levitt, said their area had already been through a debate over a hyperscale data-centre proposal and he welcomed Rocky View County seeking public input. “I think this kind of a presentation is great because it gives the community a little bit of information of what’s coming down the track, what the implications of these things are, and (we) can respond to council and make some recommendations,” he said. “And hopefully they listen to what their concerns are.” Crossfield resident Bill Crawford said he sees economic opportunity in data-centre development, provided issues such as water and power are addressed. “So as long as we get that right, then I think it’s a good opportunity and excellent for tax base and for employment,” Crawford said. He also supports the county taking time to develop its approach. “I think the moratorium was a really good idea, but I just don’t want to see them throw the baby out with the bathwater; that would be a huge mistake,” he said. Crawford also said he believes the industry needs to do more to explain data centres and their potential impacts. “I think that the industry did a very poor job of educating the decision makers up until now,” he said. “In fact, they still haven’t done a very good job of that.” The public consultation comes as the Alberta government actively courts AI data-centre investment. The province has made attracting the industry an explicit policy goal through its AI Data Centres Strategy, while introducing rules governing how large new projects can access Alberta’s electricity system. For Rocky View County, however, data-centre development is already on the doorstep. One project of relevance to Langdon is the Wild Rose Power Hub. The proposed project covers approximately 194 hectares, or 479 acres, about two kilometres southwest of Langdon along Township Road 232. Rocky View County says the site would be developed primarily as a data centre. Council approved terms of reference for a developer-led and developer-funded Wild Rose Power Hub Area Structure Plan on July 8, 2025. That approval did not approve construction of the data centre. The proposal remains in the county’s planning process, which the county says will include a council public hearing. Another major project, the Beacon AI Hub near Indus, is further along in the municipal planning process. On June 17, 2025, Rocky View County council approved the Beacon AI Hub Area Structure Plan and redesignated approximately 900 acres to the county’s Special, Data Centre land-use district. Those decisions established the municipal planning and zoning framework for the proposed data-centre development. They did not amount to approval of all subsequent development or energy infrastructure required for the project. The project’s power plans are now the subject of a separate provincial regulatory process. Beacon’s developer has applied to the Alberta Utilities Commission for a natural gas-fired power plant with a total proposed generating capability of 1,494 megawatts. The AUC says the plant would normally supply about 1,200 megawatts to proposed on-site data halls intended for artificial-intelligence and high-performance-computing operations. The AUC has held an oral hearing on the application, but the application remains under review. Rocky View County remains responsible for municipal planning and development decisions within its jurisdiction, while the AUC decides whether the proposed power plant should be approved and, if so, under what conditions. Beacon Data Centers said in a statement to CTV News that it welcomes the county’s public consultation and sees it as an opportunity for residents to help shape Rocky View County’s approach to digital infrastructure development. The company said its Indus project would include 235 long-term jobs at the campus and significant municipal taxes over the life of the project, and that its design incorporates efficient cooling, noise mitigation and other technologies. “Our goal is to deliver lasting local benefits through a project that takes its responsibilities to neighbours seriously,” Beacon said. Data-centre development is already underway in Rocky View County, including eStruxture’s CAL-2 and CAL-3 projects in east Balzac. But not every proposal has advanced. In September 2025, council rejected the proposed 448-hectare, or 1,107-acre, Kineticor Data Centre Campus in the northeast part of the county, citing concerns about its location and potential impacts on agricultural producers. This past July, council tightened its data-centre rules, making data centre campuses within the Special Data Centre district, a discretionary use giving council discretion to approve or refuse development permits. It also temporarily paused decisions on new S-DAT redesignation applications — requests to rezone land specifically for data-centre development — while it completes the Emerging Sector Strategy and develops a new regulatory framework. The moratorium does not affect land-use redesignations already approved, including the Beacon lands. The current public engagement is separate from decisions on individual development applications. Feedback from the open houses and online survey will be shared with council and summarized in a report. The county says that feedback, along with its research and other information, will be used by administration to develop options for council to consider as it determines how future data-centre development should be managed. The fourth open house is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Irricana Lions Community Hall, 300 1 St. The fifth and final session is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Springbank Heritage Club, 244168 Range Rd. 33. The county is also accepting feedback through an online survey.
