No active plan for a data centre in Fort Erie: property owner

There are no active plans for a data centre in Fort Erie despite online buzz and a webpage that would suggest otherwise.

As of Monday, Velocity1, a Mississauga-based boutique firm that offers strategic advisory to businesses, has a page on its website that pitches a 160-hectare (400-acre) parcel of land in Fort Erie as an “unparalleled opportunity for data centre development.”

However, Azhar Mohammad, CEO and founder of Velocity1, said via email on June 25, “Although we have participated in data centre investments in other parts of the world, we have no plans for such a facility in Fort Erie.”

Still, the page on the company site mentions the land’s proximity to the U.S. border and resources needed to power a data centre. The resources cited include a renewable energy source up to 130 megawatts with a 70 per cent “load factor” and “availability to water and wastewater capacity.”

Mohammad said the local focus is on manufacturing, logistics and other “employment generating uses” that would benefit both the town and Velocity1’s property. Specifically, he said the site has approval for industrial uses.

According to Velocity1’s listing on the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce website, this is the “largest employment and industrial land campus in (the) Niagara region” and is linked to the QEW by the Bowen and Gilmore roads interchanges.

Asked why the page on the Velocity1 website specifically refers to the Fort Erie property as an opportunity for a data centre and mentions resources to support it, Mohammad replied, “The website should be updated.”

Niagara This Week sought clarification on what that means and how mention of Fort Erie and a data centre ended up there in the first place, but he declined to comment on the matter further.

“The Town of Fort Erie has not received any formal application or pre-consultation request related to a data centre,” said Kevin Beauchamp, the municipality’s communications and marketing manager.

If a company were to propose a data centre in Fort Erie, he said, pre-consultation with town staff would be the first step. Staff would then evaluate the proposal and the impact to the town and residents.

High electricity consumption and significant water usage are among the impacts staff would carefully consider.

Data centres have become a point of contention across Canada, sparking protests in nearby Hamilton where there was a 9-0 council vote for a moratorium on data centres after residents rallied at city hall.

Niagara This Week sought details about the exact location of the Fort Erie property as well as its zoning but was unable to obtain that information by the publication of this article.

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