Red Deer County being eyed for data centre

Red Deer County being eyed for data centre

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Proponents behind a proposed $300 million data centre are looking at buying land at Red Deer County’s Junction 42 truck stop near Penhold.

The county announced on Sept. 29 that an offer to purchase has been made on a lot on the west edge of Junction 42, located off Highway 42 just west of Highway 2. The county bought 290 acres of land in 2018 and has since been developing it into a truck and rest stop and commercial area.

A nearly 13.5-acre lot is being eyed by investors behind a proposed data centre providing high-performance computing infrastructure for an AI research lab, says the county. A county development map lists the lot price at $300,000 per acre, which would amount to a land sale of about $4 million.

As current landowner, the county is required under the purchase agreement to apply to rezone the land to medium-industrial, a process that will involve a public hearing.

“In addition, the developer will also conduct its own community engagement, including at least one public open house in the local area, providing residents with an opportunity to learn more about the proposed development, ask questions and give feedback directly to the project team,” says the county.

Rezoning is only a part of the approval process. It would make a data centre a permitted use on the land. The county would later have to approve a development permit.

Data centres also require provincial approval. Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) approval is required for any power generation, transmission and grid connections. Alberta Environment and Protected Areas provides water approvals and ensures environmental standards and emissions regulations are met.

“Council is committed to ensuring the process is open and clear,” says county Mayor Brent Ramsay in a statement. “There is an established process that must be followed.

“Council will consider the application based on the information presented to us, the feedback we have from residents through the public hearing process and the requirements of the Municipal Government Act and other applicable regulations.”

Red Deer County already has another data centre under development. Havenz Smart Communities, in partnership with Energy Haven and Indigenous equity partner Turning Stone,

is building a water-less, ultra-low noise, 10,800-square-foot data centre and 5,000-square-foot administration building on a 120-acre site and powered by an onsite heat and power plant in Blindman Industrial Park.

The Alberta government has expressed a keen interest in encouraging data centre investment. Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other popular technologies has proposed a $13-billion, one-gigawatt in Sturgeon County. Alberta already has about 60 data centres and upwards of 100 have been proposed or under review.

In Olds, Synapse Data Inc. hoped to build a $10-billion data centre powered by a 1.4-gigawatt natural gas-fired power plan at the northeast edge of town. AUC rejected the power plant application in August because it was too close to nearby homes and businesses.