O’Leary’s Gas-Powered Data Centre Emissions Could Wipe Out A

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O’Leary’s Gas-Powered Data Centre Emissions Could Wipe Out Alberta’s Coal Phaseout Gains

- December 3, 2025 - The Energy Mix - Jody MacPherson

QUOTE: "This story is part of our ongoing investigative series, Hidden Wonder Valley."

EXCERPT: "Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary’s proposed $70-billion data centre, designed to run on 7.5 gigawatts of gas-fired power, could raise Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions to levels not seen since the coal era, according to estimates obtained by The Energy Mix.

Planned in an area battling drought, the project’s water needs would also be vast, rivalling the annual use of hundreds of thousands of Alberta households.

Wonder Valley is still nowhere near getting off the ground. But if it ever gets built as planned, it could pump out 25.7 to 30.5 megatonnes of emissions a year, depending on what turbines and gas are used, and whether or not it includes carbon capture, found [pdf] Pembina Institute Senior Analyst Jason Wang, who crunched the numbers for The Mix.

“It would be the equivalent of a return to the era of mostly coal-fired electricity,” said Wang.

The reversal would set the province and Canada back about 20 years, matching the 27 megatonnes of coal emissions Alberta phased out between 2005 and 2023. . . . . "

[ theenergymix.com ]