The sun slips behind acres of rolling hills, slowly painting Wheatland County with hues of orange and yellow before giving way to moonlight.
That’s the way it’s been for nearly 20 years on the porch of Dawn Parnell’s home, south of Strathmore, Alta.
“We like the quiet, we are a small community,” she said. “It’s a place that we can relax.”
But a 3.5-million-square-foot artificial intelligence (AI) data centre may be moving in next door, only two kilometres from Parnell’s residence.
“This is rural life, so we are here to get away from all of that,” she said. "We don't want this huge industrial development right next to homes.”
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Kansas-based Diode Ventures is seeking approval to develop Goldfinch Technology Park, an approximately 230-hectare AI data centre campus, in the southwest corner of the county. The project is meant to include multiple buildings constructed across three phases.
Diode Ventures says the project could generate significant tax revenue and create hundreds of jobs.
Opposition dominated a July 7 public hearing, where 24 residents spoke against the proposal and one spoke in favour.
Residents raised concerns about noise, environmental impacts and what they describe as a lack of transparency.
“I’m very concerned about the noise,” Parnell said. “It’s 24/7. It’s been known to basically wreck people’s day-to-day living.”
Neighbours also said they were concerned about the health and environmental effects of data centres and their emissions.
“You can’t just build a berm and plant some trees and these impacts go away,” said Emily Barnett, a resident of Carseland, Alta., located just under three kilometres from the proposed development.
