General
Answer: Data centers are physical infrastructure that house computing equipment used for data storage and compute services, no differently than a laptop computer. Canadian law establishes parameters for how data centers can be used in our country. In Canada, this means data center facilities house and operate computing equipment for legal applications that includes data hosting and cloud computing, digital asset mining, artificial intelligence and machine learning and digital services and content delivery. AI is one of several applications of a data center. Other applications include: cloud storage, cloud computing, and storage of data that enables numerous commonplace business operations, from online banking to streaming television.
Answer: Data centers consist of rows of metal frames called server racks which contain computing equipment (graphics processing units, central processing units), computer storage equipment (hard drives), networking equipment (routers, clocks, switches, etc.), and fibre-optic cables. In addition to the computing and storagse equipment, data centers also contain cooling systems, power supply modules, and fire protection systems.
Answer: BHE Canada has a mandate to reinvest profits from this project back into Canada to continue to invest in projects that grow Canada’s economy, while adding value to Canadian businesses, communities, and customers.
Noise
Answer: During construction, noise is expected to average approximately 95 decibels, no louder or sustained than other temporary construction projects. Construction is expected to be limited during daytime hours. During operation, noise mitigations, such as landscape buffers, sound barriers or ventilation silencers, can maintain noise levels to 65 decibels during the day and 55 decibels during evenings. For context:
o 55 decibels –volume of a household refrigerator
o 65 decibels – volume of a normal conversation or the sounds of a business office
o 75 decibels – volume of a vacuum cleaner
o 85 decibels – volume of nominal city traffic
o 110 decibels – volume of a chain saw
Sound intensity levels (decibels) decrease over a distance. For a distance of 100 metres away from the site, the expected sound intensity should not cross the threshold of hearing.
Water
Answer: Wild Rose Power Hub maintains a strict “good neighbour” policy, meaning both its start-up and annual operations are being designed to ensure it uses significantly less water than agricultural and farming, and in such a way that it does not prevent the sustainment or growth of Langdon and neighboring communities.
Answer: The Alberta Water Act, establishing the legal framework used to manage water in Alberta, prioritizes the allocation of water to residential over industrial consumers during drought conditions. Alberta law requires the curtailment of water to industrial sites, like the Wild Rose Power Hub, over any residential use.
Answer: Peer-reviewed evidence shows that data centers are generally less water-intensive than agriculture, farming and livestock, pulp-and-paper, thermal power generation, unconventional oil and gas production, and even the beverage brewing industry (source: United Nations 2025 Aquastat Water Data). Locally, the Wild Rose Power Hub is being engineered with its neighbours in mind – prioritizing responsible water usage that does not hinder the continuation and growth of other industries, or simply the usage of the growing community
Power Generation
Answer: The Wild Rose Power Hub will not produce emissions. Emissions associated with data centers are from supporting, and sometimes onsite, baseload power plants. For this reason, and consistent with our “good neighbour” commitment, Chinook Development decided not to develop an onsite baseload power plant. Instead, we will develop any necessary power plants at remote locations in Alberta. Any onsite back-up power solution needed to provide electrical reliability required by the data centre would consist of small generators and would be expected to operate less than 20 hours per year.
Answer: The Alberta Electric System Operator has stated that during any rare events where there is more demand for electricity than supply, data centers will be cut back first, ensuring residential customers have priority.
Answer: Chinook Development will have no negative impact on electricity bills because our project, as required by Alberta law, will develop new power generation equivalent or greater than the demand created by the Wild Rose Power Hub project. Chinook Development will pay for any transmission infrastructure required to connect to Alberta’s grid to ensure costs are not borne by ratepayers/residents.
Benefits
Answer: Chinook Development is expecting to contribute more than $19 million per year in tax revenue to Rocky View County, which can be used to pay for municipal services that benefit residents.