There are serious concerns to consider regarding the 300-megawatt AI data centre being built in the rural municipality of Sherwood near Regina. It is expected to be the largest in Canada. The Saskatchewan Green Party opposes this for numerous reasons.

We should look to the USA, which already has experience with this. There is a coalition of more than 230 environmental groups that have demanded a moratorium on new data centres in the country, due to:

• Worsening the climate crisis
• Raising electricity bills

These groups cite the data centres sucking up vast amounts of water to cool down equipment and being responsible for expelling planet-heating emissions. We are being fed the lie in Saskatchewan that by some kind of “magical thinking,” we won’t have those problems here.

At the current rate of growth, data centres are projected to add up to 44 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2030. We strongly object to Saskatchewan adding to that. It’s equal to putting an extra 10 million cars on the roads.

Massive-scale AI data centres like the one announced for the Regina area are also driving the demand for nuclear power projects worldwide. These projects need so much energy that they can require a power plant solely for their own use. Now, I ask you, is this project working hand in glove with the SaskParty’s proposed nuclear power projects? From what we can see from recent events elsewhere, I would say yes!

Let’s get specific on how water in our drought-prone province will be drained. AI centres claim that what they are doing is keeping water completely sealed inside underground piping. In reality, hot water is sprayed into the open air inside large towers. Air cools the water through evaporation.

Data centres claim the water is cooled naturally by the earth and never released to the air. In reality, large volumes of water literally disappear into the atmosphere every day.

Data centres claim the same water is circulated over and over again. In reality, remaining water becomes chemically concentrated and must be discharged.

Data centres claim that there is no evaporation, no discharge, no daily water replay. In reality, thousands of gallons of fresh water are required daily to replace what’s lost and dumped. This system is not sealed, and it is not water-neutral, despite being called a “closed loop”.

We must learn from what has happened at other locations and not be conned into believing the magical thinking that it won’t happen here. We don’t need AI, and we certainly don’t need to build an AI data centre here. Half of what Scott Moe ever does is to threaten our water security. Every project puts us in danger of this province becoming a “Dirty Thirties Desert”.

I encourage everyone to attend protests against this project and to write your MLA with concerns.

-Naomi Hunter 
Saskatchewan Green Party Leader