Data Centre Development

Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw and land use plans determine where new buildings can go and the types of businesses and activities allowed on a property.

Large-scale data centres are considered a Major Industrial Use in Edmonton’s Zoning Bylaw and would only be allowed in areas designated for these uses. An applicant would be required to apply for a rezoning and, in some cases, a land use plan amendment to build a large-scale data centre in an area that doesn't currently allow major industrial uses.

The City must review all rezoning and land use plan amendment applications it receives. The City reviews applications for alignment with City policies and plans (such as The City Plan, District Policy and plans, Area Structure Plans) and technical considerations (such as drainage and transportation) and seeks public input. It’s important to note that the City’s review cannot reconsider any issues already decided upon as part of the approvals granted by other Provincial regulatory agencies (such as the Alberta Utilities Commission) for certain parts of the data centre development (such as the power plant) located on the same site.

The applicant uses the findings of the City’s review, along with the public input, to help inform what changes they decide to make to their application. Following potential revisions from the applicant, the City then recommends support or non-support for the application before it goes to a City Council Public Hearing for a decision.

All proposed rezoning and/or land use plan amendment applications must be approved by City Council at a public hearing before proceeding to the next step in the development process. Once the appropriate zoning is in place, a developer can then apply for development and building permits to begin data centre facility construction.

A developer can apply for development and building permits for the power plant and data center facility construction once the correct zoning is in place. A developer is not required to wait for approvals from other regulatory agencies (such as the Alberta Utilities Commission) before applying for development and building permits.

The City examines plans to ensure what is proposed meets municipal zoning rules and provincial safety and building codes before issuing permits to begin construction. Inspections are done throughout the construction process to ensure what is built is safe and matches the approved permits and plans.

The City would enter into a servicing agreement with the data centre developer outlining the infrastructure — such as sewer lines and roads — they are required to pay for and construct to support the development.

The Alberta Energy System Operator (AESO) makes decisions about whether new data centres can connect directly to Alberta’s electrical grid. The Government of Alberta’s Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Strategy states that it will give priority to data centre developers that build their own power plants to run the data centre rather than connecting to Alberta’s electrical grid directly.

The Alberta government and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) oversee the raw energy sources (such as natural gas) and infrastructure (such as pipelines) used by power plants. The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) makes decisions about the development and operation of new power plants and associated infrastructure (such as transmission lines, back-up generators, and so on).

The AUC considers a municipality’s zoning regulations and land use plans when deciding on power plant applications. While the municipality can participate as an intervener in AUC proceedings, once a power plant receives AUC approval it must also be approved by the municipality. Municipalities also cannot reconsider any issues decided upon as part of the AUC’s power plant approval process when reviewing applications for the data centre facility.

Alberta’s Water Act regulates water use. EPCOR is responsible for reviewing and making decisions on requests from data centre developers to connect to Edmonton’s system through its existing municipal water licence. Alternatively, data centre developers may instead apply for a new water licence, which the Alberta Energy Regulator issues for power plant facilities and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas issues for all other uses including data processing centres.