Yellowhead County council received a progress update on the proposed Malachite One Data Centre earlier this week.
During its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 13, council received a report from Tourmaline’s Nico Vandersalm on the project.
The project proponents held public hearings in Edson, Robb and Hinton to collect community feedback and questions on the project.
Collectively, over 250 people attended the open houses. Vandersalm reported Highway 47 traffic and safety, water use, noise and other impacts on the community and wildlife, as well as the project’s proximity to Robb, as the most common questions and concerns.
An additional concern was the possibility of localized warming and microclimates. Vandersalm explained that modelling systems used to evaluate heat dissipation for facilities like these indicate that heat produced will be directed upwards, and Tourmaline expects that heat to dissipate within hundreds of feet of the facility, which should minimize impacts to surrounding vegetation, wildlife and the local climate.
Community engagement on the project is ongoing, and he encouraged residents to visit the project website for more information and answers to frequently asked questions. Questions and concerns can also be directed to feedback@malachite-one.com.
So far, the company has completed environmental assessments for the data centre’s impact on water, hydrology, wetlands, wildlife, fisheries and aquatic species, vegetation and soils. Vandersalm said air quality and environmental impact studies for the power generation portion of the project are ongoing.
The project is currently in phase two: permitting and land acquisition. Vandersalm stated that the province has granted a lease for the Crown land the project is proposed for.
Next up is Water Act approvals, according to the presentation.
Yellowhead County Council accepted this report for information during its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 13. You can watch the full meeting below:
