New Brunswick Beacon AI Centers and VoltaGrid plan to introduce the idea to area residents at an open house on Nov. 5 at the Lorneville Community Centre and are already trying to assure people that they will try to mitigate potential impacts.Some residents are concerned about environmental impacts on rural residential areaMark Leger · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2025 4:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesBeacon AI Centers and VoltaGrid propose building a data centre in an area of Spruce Lake Industrial Park that was rezoned in July. (Roger Cosman/CBC)The City of Saint John has its first prospective business for the expanded area of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park, but some area residents are already concerned about the environmental impact of the project.Calgary-based Beacon AI Centers and Texas-based VoltaGrid are proposing to build a data centre on a 120-hectare parcel of land in the industrial park.Data centres host large computer systems that do things such as store massive amounts of data for businesses and governments, and operate websites and apps such as video streaming services and AI search engines. Greg Norton, a councillor for the area, says it’s a welcome proposal so soon after the land was rezoned in July after weeks of heated debate and public meetings.Coun. Greg Norton welcomes the data centre proposal but says it must go through public consultations and an environmental impact assessment first. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)He said the companies could put upwards of $2 billion into the new facility, bringing needed tax revenue, jobs and other growth opportunities.“Saint John is that economic driver, and industrial parks are a big piece of that,” Norton said. “I think if this is done right, it’s going to open up not windows, but doors to more investment that will see us reach our full potential.”The companies plan to introduce the idea to area residents in an open house on November 5 at the Lorneville Community Centre and are already trying to assure people in the rural, residential area that they will try to mitigate potential impacts.“The Project would include enclosed buildings to limit noise, and control systems would be in place, including heating, cooling, noise, and fire suppression,” Beacon and VoltaGrid said in the notice sent to residents.Beacon hasn’t replied to a request for an interview. Nathan Ough, the VoltaGrid CEO who was born and raised in the Saint John area, said in an email that he would do an interview, but only after the public session on Nov. 5.Ian MacKinnon, the general manager of Saint John Industrial Parks, also declined an interview until after the public session.The city had previously said a letter of intent had been submitted to build a data centre but could not disclose the name at the time.Local resident Adam Wilkins says the data centre will have negative impacts on the rural, residential area, and he remains opposed to development on the proposed site. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)Adam Wilkins, an area resident and one of the leaders of the “Save Lorneville” community group, says the city is not living up to its pledge to attract light and medium industry that’s clean and non-emitting.“A data centre is not green, it’s not good for the environment,” Wilkins said in an interview. “It involves the destruction of large parcels of land and in this case mature forest, old growth forest, wetlands, [peat bog]. They use inordinate amounts of water for cooling and energy to run.”Wilkins opposed all development on this piece of land. He and some other community members have filed for a judicial review of the city’s decision to rezone the land in July. They will have an initial case management conference with the city and a judge this month.As for the data centre project, Wilkins said, residents are also concerned about the safety of their well water, and he wonders why an operation like this would be proposed in a residential area with only a 150-metre buffer between industrial operations and homes.Beacon also has plans to build six data centres in Alberta, but Wilkins said many of them won’t be near people’s homes.The city has created a Spruce Lake industrial zone, which would require buffer zones for different kinds of developments to protect residents. (City of Saint John)“Some of these proposed data centres they’re building in Alberta are in traditional industrial park areas where there’s no residential areas for a long distance,” Wilkins said. “There was even a data centre that was voted down by the municipal council in Alberta because it was too close to [farmland]. This is going to be 150 metres from a residential community.”Data centres also require a large power supply, which is where VoltaGrid will play a role. The proposed centre would require energy from the N.B. Power grid, but VoltaGrid would also assemble a 190 MW natural gas-fired power-generating system on site.Norton said they’re also looking at ways to access water for the centre from sources such as the Bay of Fundy, rather than the municipal water system, which has shown its vulnerability recently with low water levels after a long dry spell.“The advanced cooling systems they’re bringing to the table will make sure Saint John will not have to put at risk our own municipal water supply,” Norton said.Norton understands Wilkins’s concerns but said the project will have to go through an environmental impact assessment before it proceeds.He also said the companies are committed to making this work for area residents.“Between both the VoltaGrid and Beacon AI Centres, they’re really laying the groundwork for strong community consultation … and being able to answer some of the public’s questions and, and moving through that environmental impact assessment to make sure all those checks and balances are done.”The companies will also meet with the Saint John council in a private session on Nov 4. If the data centre is approved, the companies hope to have it operational in early 2028.ABOUT THE AUTHORMark Leger is a reporter and producer based in Saint John. Send him story ideas to: mark.leger@cbc.ca
Calgary, Texas companies propose data centre for Saint John industrial park
