More than 200 people attend protest opposing data centre in Saint John, N.B.

Protesters gathered in Saint John, N.B., to oppose data centre construction are pictured. (Nick Moore / CTV Atlantic)

More than 200 people assembled in Saint John, N.B., Saturday to protest the idea of a large industrial data centre being built in the Spruce Lake Industrial Park.

The rally at Kings Square included messages and speeches opposing the proposed data centre that’s being pitched by VoltaGrid LLC which operates out of Texas, and Beacon AI Centres based out of Calgary.

The proposed data centre would be built on a 120-hectare parcel of land within an expanded Spruce Lake Industrial Park.

Sarah Nelson, an organizer of Saturday’s demonstration, says the event was organized quickly so it could happen just ahead of Monday’s municipal election.

“We wanted to do this before the election because we want people to think about what they’re voting for, think about who they’re voting for, and get informed on the data centre,” says Nelson.

The newly formed group called ‘Resist Data Centre NB’ plans to organize a protest on the lawn of the provincial legislature in Fredericton soon.

The data centre’s site received municipal zoning approval last year.

An environmental impact assessment report was filed with the provincial government in early April and is currently under review. The assessment report found that if approved, the data centre would produce around 6.6 per cent of New Brunswick’s annual emissions.

The data centre would draw from both the NB Power grid and an on-site natural gas-fueled generator to produce the necessary 390 megawatts required to operate.

The data centre is the first proposed project to be announced for the industrial park’s expansion. If given final approval, it could be operational by 2028.

Demonstrators say time is running out to stop the project.

“We’re trying to make a big impact in a short amount of time,” says Nelson. “We’re hoping that going to Fredericton will help things roll forward.”

The ‘Save Lorneville” group has been raising concerns about the impact of an expanded industrial park on drinking water and old growth forests for about two years.

Chris Watson, a co-organizer of the Save Lorneville group, says the data centre has made more people aware of the broader scope of the industrial park’s expansion.

“We’ve seen this growth in ‘Save Lorneville’ by a significant amount ever since this data centre was announced,” says Watson. “It’s kind of ramped up opposition to this industrial park expansion.”

Data centres across North America have been under increased scrutiny for their energy demands, the amount of water required to cool systems and broader environmental impacts.

An estimated 3.5 million litres of water would be needed for the Saint John data centre’s initial system infill, with the company calling it a small fraction of usage when compared to other industries in the area.

Project developers say construction of the data centre would require about 1,300 workers, and 210 operational jobs once the facility was completed.

“This is a $2 billion investment for the region that, assuming all the stars aligned, we’ll start putting capital to the ground here over the next 12 months,” said Nathan Ough, the president and CEO of VoltaGrid, at a public meeting last November.

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Avery MacRae

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