A physicist working on behalf of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (SLCN) says the proposed O’Leary Digital Wonder Valley data center in Alberta could produce waste heat equivalent to the energy of 23 atomic bombs each day. He stressed that the comparison is a rough estimate intended to convey the project’s scale, not a prediction of explosions.
The assessment was prepared by Robert Davies, a physicist at Utah State University, for the SLCN’s judicial review challenge to the development. Davies said the project could become “the largest single-site heat source on the entire planet,” and warned that its effects on surrounding wildlife require full assessment.
The plans, first unveiled in 2024, describe a 64-square-kilometer development with a stated budget of $70 billion. The site is planned for the SLCN’s traditional territory in Alberta, about 130 kilometers southwest of the Nation’s reserve. The SLCN’s legal challenge argues that existing land-development rules are not suited to a project on this scale.
Davies cautioned that the figures in his assessment are first-order estimates and should be checked against information filed by the developer. The document also says it is not a comprehensive environmental review, a formal expert report or a legal opinion.
O’Leary Digital CEO Paul Palandjian said the company respects the regulatory process and is engaging with Indigenous communities through consultation. Davies, meanwhile, argued that environmental regulations were not designed with projects of this size in mind and said he could not imagine the development proceeding without complete assessments.
Sources: TechRadar.