Expanding the knowledge of AI data centres was the topic of a virtual discussion out of Sault Ste. Marie this week. The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre gathered those with expertise on the impacts the centres have on the watershed, power grid and local industry. “What we were trying to do was have a conversation about what types of data centres work best in what areas,” said Sandra Moore, the centre’s executive director. The centre hosted an hour-long discussion looking to share knowledge on the impact of data centres in northern Ontario. Although the innovation centre helps area businesses utilize AI, officials said swaying people in favour of building more centres was not their goal. “I get that there are individuals in our community who are very against data centres and the things that they bring up 100 per cent are very accurate and very true,” Moore said. “But what if we can do data centres differently? What if we were one of those communities that could do a best practice for a data centre that’s done really well?” Among common concerns is the drain the data centres have on local freshwater for cooling purposes. Experts point to the proposed five-megawatt facility on Yates Avenue as a data centre that plans to use the most environmentally friendly format. “The closed-loop system, I think, is the best … because basically they take out the water once,” said Daniel Featherstone, a freshwater researcher with the innovation centre. Digital sovereignty “The one at Yates Avenue, it’d probably be about 45,000 to 75,000 gallons of water, which is roughly six millionths of a daily flow of the St. Marys River, which is pretty much a drop in the bucket.” The rarely discussed topic of sovereignty was also brought forward as a reason it makes sense to have these centres owned and operated in Canada. “To really cut back on the reliance of our neighbours to the south or other countries where, if they need to access that data, they can, regardless of where the location is,” said Taylor Trecroce, the centre’s business programs manager. “And to really have that sovereign piece, we need the infrastructure built within Canada.” Innovation centre officials said they plan to have further sessions where they can educate the public on AI data centres.
