Summerside won't have battery storage for its solar power this winter after Sunbank fire

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Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
Date: 2026-10-30 19:32:11.0
Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Municipal, Energy, Infrastructure, Environment]

Following a battery fire at the Sunbank solar farm in September that burned for two weeks, the City of Summerside will enter the winter season lacking 5 megawatts of dispatchable battery storage capacity. Summerside Electric, which generates roughly 60 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, has secured a conditional firm service agreement with Maritime Electric to help bridge the energy gap, alongside utilizing its 15-megawatt standby generation facility. The city faces ongoing provincial energy challenges tied to mainland transmission infrastructure and submarine cables, prompting long-term considerations for energy independence and grid resiliency.

‘Just not acceptable’: Backlash grows over Nova Scotia AI data centre project

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-10-19 20:13:17.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Energy, Infrastructure, Technology, Environment]

Energy and infrastructure company EverWind announced a $10 billion private investment to build a large-scale data centre campus at its existing Point Tupper site near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, with AI firm Anthropic signed on as a long-term tenant. The project is planned to begin with an initial 95-megawatt phase in late 2027, scaling up to a full development capacity of 420 megawatts by 2028, and includes a $2 billion investment to advance EverWind's onshore wind energy projects. Opposition parties and community advocates are pushing back, demanding an emergency sitting of the Nova Scotia Legislature due to concerns over public consultation, grid reliability, electricity rates, and water resource impacts.

EverWind announces $10B investment in N.S. data centre campus, wind projects

Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-10-16 15:57:09.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Infrastructure, Energy, Technology, Economy]

Energy and infrastructure company EverWind has announced a $10 billion private investment to construct an AI data centre campus and associated onshore wind projects at its Point Tupper site near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. The project includes $8 billion for the data centre and $2 billion for $2 billion in onshore wind development, aiming for an initial 95-megawatt phase in late 2027 and a full build-out capacity of 420 megawatts by 2028. EverWind has reached a long-term lease agreement with an artificial intelligence company and is negotiating a potential ownership stake with a First Nations consortium led by Membertou Development Corporation. The facility will employ a closed-loop cooling system—using an estimated 100,000 litres of water daily in phase one and 500,000 litres daily at full capacity—while EverWind funds all electricity infrastructure costs to prevent ratepayer impact and generates 2,000 construction jobs and 215 permanent operating roles.

Le BAPE publie son rapport sur le projet de réfection du mur de soutènement en amont du barrage Simon ‑ Sicard à Montréal

Source: Quebec - Fil de presse gouvernemental
Date: 2026-10-14 11:54:00.0
Tags: [Quebec, Municipal, Infrastructure, Energy, Environment]

The Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) has published its investigation and public hearing report regarding the Phase 2 retaining wall reconstruction project upstream of the Simon-Sicard dam in Montreal, proposed by Hydro-Québec. The report details the environmental review process and public consultations conducted for the infrastructure rehabilitation project on the territory of the City of Montreal. The publication marks a key regulatory milestone in the assessment of the dam safety and structural repair initiative.

2nd potential AI data centre worries Saint John residents: ‘We have questions’

Source: New Brunswick - Regional News
Date: 2026-10-05 20:52:15.0
Tags: [New Brunswick, Municipal, Energy, Technology, Environment, Infrastructure]

Residents in Saint John, New Brunswick, represented by the advocacy group Save Lorneville, are raising concerns over a second proposed large-scale artificial intelligence data centre following the revelation of plans by U.S.-based Cross River Infrastructure Partners. The proposed project has initially requested 50 megawatts of network-firm power through correspondence with Opportunities New Brunswick, adding to ongoing public scrutiny over an already proposed 390-megawatt data centre and gas plant at the Spruce Lake Industrial Park by VoltaGrid and Beacon Data Centers. Local advocates and residents have cited a lack of updated regulatory frameworks, unknown impacts on municipal water and electrical grid capacity, and potential risks to greenhouse gas emissions and public health.

County of Grande Prairie issues data centre development permit near Sexsmith

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-30 18:09:48.0
Tags: [Alberta, Municipal, Technology, Energy, Infrastructure, Governance]

The County of Grande Prairie issued a development permit under its 2003 Land Use Bylaw for a new artificial intelligence data centre near Sexsmith in the Emerson Trail area, featuring five buildings measuring 80 by 180 feet and 15 make-up air generator accessory structures measuring eight by 20 feet. Following public pushback from residents regarding transparency and potential impacts on water, noise, and the environment, County Reeve Amanda McDonald announced that future data centre applications meeting right-zoning requirements will now be routed through the Municipal Planning Commission. The underlying land-use redesignation applications for the project site were submitted by Christopher Balderston (CEO of Ground Level Land Corp.), Pamela Balderston, and Ryan Curry (operating as RB Curry Auto Transport), placing the development within Ground Level's planned Redtail Business Park. Although the municipal development permit has been granted, the project remains subject to provincial regulatory agency requirements, such as obtaining an Alberta Energy license, which heavily restricts the municipality's jurisdiction over additional environmental and operational conditions.

Igloolik sealift delayed but community still won’t run out of fuel, gov’t says

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-24 17:14:22.0
Tags: [National, Infrastructure, Energy, Municipal]

The annual sealift carrying the fuel resupply for the hamlet of Igloolik, Nunavut—home to just over 2,000 residents—has been delayed from September 17 to September 26, 2026, due to logistical factors. In response to potential low diesel supplies used for home heating, electricity generation, and municipal water and sewer operations, the territorial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure facilitated a transfer between storage tanks yielding an additional 80,000 litres of diesel. While municipal officials have asked residents to conserve water to reduce fuel consumption by municipal trucks, the government of Nunavut maintains that the community has sufficient reserves to last until the scheduled arrival and notes that airlifting fuel remains an available contingency option.

'AI is here to stay': Cherry-picking Glubish tells concerned Grande Prairie crowd to call their MLAs about data centres

Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-17 15:32:29.0
Tags: [Alberta, Technology, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure, Municipal]

Approximately 300 residents attended a contentious Sept. 11 town hall in Grande Prairie regarding the proposed 65-square-kilometre Wonder Valley AI data centre project backed by Kevin O'Leary. Alberta's Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, defended the initiative by stating artificial intelligence is here to stay and pointing to a closed cooling system meant to mitigate water use from the Smoky River. However, local participants and critics, including resident Casey Klein and SAIT research scientist Dr. Robert Davies, raised concerns that the facility—which holds interim and preliminary municipal licences to draw up to 6 million and 24 million cubic metres of water annually—would impose cumulative environmental impacts through thermal energy emissions, low-frequency fan noise, and heavy resource exploitation within the Municipal District of Greenview and the Peace Country Region.

Summerside solar farm fire contained to single battery cell as burn-out enters 7th day

Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
Date: 2026-09-13 15:00:17.0
Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Municipal, Energy, Emergency, Infrastructure]

Emergency crews at the 30-hectare Sunbank solar farm in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, have successfully contained a battery fire to a single battery cell entering its seventh day of burn-out. The incident began around 5:30 a.m. on September 7 when a battery unit ignited at the west-end facility, prompting round-the-clock monitoring by city officials and emergency personnel. Summerside chief administrative officer JP Desrosiers confirmed that conditions have remained stable following a brief flare-up, and city officials do not anticipate reinstating a voluntary shelter-in-place notice unless the fire spreads beyond the current battery infrastructure.

Conditions have improved, but fire still not out at Summerside solar farm, says city's CAO

Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
Date: 2026-09-09 09:35:25.0
Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Municipal, Energy, Emergency, Environment, Infrastructure]

A prolonged fire at the City of Summerside's Sunbank solar farm battery bank, which began on Monday, September 7, 2026, continues to burn under monitoring by Summerside Fire Services and Summerside Police Services using drone thermal imaging. While conditions and wind directions have improved, allowing the city to avoid a mandatory shelter-in-place order, a voluntary shelter-in-place order remains in effect for the immediate area. Local schools and Credit Union Place remain closed as third-party firms conduct air quality sampling and officials analyze drinking water and runoff samples.

Shelter in place order issued for some Summerside residents

Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
Date: 2026-09-07 11:04:36.0
Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Municipal, Energy, Emergency, Public Safety, Infrastructure]

A fire broke out in one of the battery banks at the City of Summerside's solar farm around 5:30 AM, prompting the Summerside Police and Fire departments to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents living along South Drive from MacKenzie to Bayview Drive. City officials, including CAO J.P. Desrosier, reported that the fire was relatively small and contained by crews on the scene, with weather conditions and rain assisting in dispersing smoke safely away from the area. As a precaution, officials closed South Drive from Greenwood Drive to Putters Street, advised residents to keep windows and doors closed, turn off outside-ventilation systems, and keep pets indoors.