TransAlta gathering community input on potential new Parkland County data centre
Teams with TransAlta Corp. have been busy fielding questions from rural residents west of Edmonton, where the power generator, Brookfield and CPP Investments aim to build a new data centre.
The three partners signed a memorandum of understanding in February to evaluate a large-scale project in Parkland County called the Boreal Technology Hub.
The site, directly south of TransAlta’s existing gas-fired Keephills Generating Station, has been granted 230 megawatts through Alberta’s grid operator for an initial phase.
At full build out, it could be as large as 1,600 megawatts — more than what the City of Edmonton consumes at any given moment.
TransAlta CEO Joel Hunter said Tuesday that a community open house a month ago went well, running four hours and attracting some 180 attendees.
“The takeaway was, they want to understand more around data centres. Even though we talk a lot about data centres, it’s still relatively new and they have questions around ‘What’s the amount of noise that will come from the facility? What’s the amount of water that would be used?'” he told analysts on a conference call to discuss third-quarter results.
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TransAlta, previously a major coal-fired power producer, has been present in the region for more than 70 years, so it has a long history engaging with nearby residents, Hunter added.
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Another session is scheduled for next week at the community hall in the hamlet of Keephills, where residents can take a deeper dive into the technical aspects of the project, the regulatory process and community benefits.
The Alberta government has been looking to attract data centre developers to the province, which has plentiful natural gas and land. But it has also been mindful of not overburdening the provincial electrical system, requiring entrants to provide their own power and capping how much can initially be drawn from the grid.
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Hunter praised the province’s approach. In some U.S. jurisdictions, for example, development has raced ahead too fast, driving up consumers’ power bills, which in turn has led to abrupt reversals in the form of moratoriums.
“(The province) has been very deliberate and very focused on ensuring they don’t want to compromise reliability or affordability here for Albertans,” Hunter said.
“At times, people might feel a bit frustrated by that. But I think it’s actually very intentional and being very focused not only on the medium term but the long term.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Calgary-based company said it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $63 million or 20 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
The result compared with a loss of $62 million or 20 cents per diluted share for the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, TransAlta says it earned 18 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted loss of two cents per share in the third quarter of 2025. Revenue for the quarter totalled $536 million, down from $615 million a year earlier.
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