Public opposition to artificial intelligence data centre projects is surging across Canada as outrage over the projectsâ energy and water use, noise pollution, carbon footprintâand their proponentsâ habit of often ignoring or flouting community oppositionâunites voters across the political spectrum, reports The Energy Mix.
The latest poll for Heatmap showed public support for data centres collapsing, with 75% of respondents now saying they oppose development in their communities. The poll results arrived as the Alberta Utility Commission (AUC) disallowed a $1-billion, 1,400-megawatt gas power plant that would have powered a data centre in the rural community of Olds, where 900 people out of a population of about 9,500 were given standing to speaking out on the project.