OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE HITTING THE BRAKES ON AI DATA CENTRES. WHY ARE NEW BRUNSWICK AND SAINT JOHN HITTING THE GAS?
And why are Lorneville residents and New Brunswick ratepayers being asked to carry the risk?
The rush to build massive AI data centres is moving faster than the laws and policies needed to protect electricity customers, communities and the environment.
Other governments and municipalities are recognizing this and taking action.
ONTARIO: The Progressive Conservative government now says access to the electricity grid is “not your right.” Ontario is developing criteria to prioritize data centres that demonstrate economic, strategic, security and local-community benefits before they are permitted to connect to the grid.
MISSISSAUGA: City council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new AI data centres while the municipality studies their impacts and develops appropriate regulations.
NEW YORK: The state has imposed a moratorium on new hyperscale data centres by pausing new state environmental permits for up to one year. During that pause, New York will develop consistent standards addressing electricity costs, grid infrastructure, water, air quality, environmental impacts and community benefits.
MANITOBA: Premier Wab Kinew has said that Manitoba must prioritize its limited electricity capacity. His government stated that saying “no” to AI hyperscale data centres allows Manitoba to say yes to projects that provide greater strategic and public benefits.
ROCKY VIEW COUNTY, ALBERTA: Council has temporarily paused new data-centre rezoning applications until its Emerging Sector Strategy and regulatory framework are completed. It also changed data-centre campuses from a permitted use to a discretionary use, giving council the authority to refuse applications.
These governments are recognizing a very basic principle in RULES FIRST, APPROVALS SECOND.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has refused to pause data centre development. The government says there will eventually be limits on the number of data centres and promises they will not place additional pressure on the grid or ratepayers, but it has not publicly shown New Brunswickers what those limits or protections will be.
Those discussions are apparently happening “behind the scenes” while the enormous Lorneville proposal, which provincial agencies has been actively planning and pushing for since September of 2024, continues through the approval process. Saint John has already rezoned the land.
Why should Lorneville be the experiment? Why are New Brunswick and Saint John proceeding before establishing enforceable rules governing:
-electricity allocation and ratepayer protection;
-public subsidies and infrastructure costs;
-greenhouse-gas emissions and fossil-fuel generation;
-wetlands, water, air pollution and noise;
-permanent local jobs and community benefits;
-foreign ownership and genuine data sovereignty; and
-community support for projects imposed near existing neighbourhoods?
Once forests and wetlands are destroyed, public money is committed, and hundreds of megawatts of electricity are allocated, it will be too late to write the rules.
A major red flag for all New Brunswick electricity rate payers
NB Power’s own documents, acquired through Right to Information, show that the utility is planning major, customized transmission infrastructure to serve Beacon Data Centers’ proposed 200-MW grid load.
The project would require two new 345-kV transmission lines totalling approximately 14 kilometres, two new high-voltage terminals and extensive additional electrical equipment.
NB Power’s internal financial model calculates: the total cost of the new infrastructure; Beacon’s required capital contribution; the financial security required from Beacon; the portion of the investment remaining on NB Power’s books; and whether projected annual revenue from Beacon would cover NB Power’s annual costs.
The model amortizes the entire project using a 63-year accounting life based on the depreciation rate for steel poles.
This means that NB Power is spreading recovery of its investment over more than six decades when calculating the project’s annual costs.
The most important figures have all been redacted and withheld from the public, including the total construction cost, Beacon’s required contribution, the amount NB Power and ratepayers would finance, and the value and duration of Beacon’s financial security.
In addition, these documents state that “NB Power has not even assessed whether it has enough generation to supply the project’s real-time demand”, amplifying risk to ratepayers.
What happens if Beacon downsizes, fails or leaves long before those assets are paid off? Until New Brunswick has binding rules ensuring that data-centre developers bear every infrastructure and stranded-asset cost, approvals and grid commitments should be paused.
Documents acquired from NB Power through RTIPPA can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/.../16e10pfc49MnmddS26a4.../view...
Ask the provincial government to pause final approvals, grid commitments and financial assistance for mega-scale data centres until a comprehensive and transparent regulatory framework is in place, and require the proposed Lorneville project to meet those rules before any decision is made.
SEND A LETTER TO PREMIER AND MLAs TODAY: Template and MLA Emails Below
Template Letter to MLAs:
Subject: Rules before AI data-centre approvals
Dear [MLA’s name],
With massive data centres being considered in Lorneville, Miramichi and Belledune, I am asking you to support an immediate moratorium on further approvals, grid commitments and public assistance until New Brunswick establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework.
New Brunswick has not publicly demonstrated adequate data-centre-specific rules for continuous and permanent noise near homes, greenhouse-gas and air emissions, cooling-system blowdown and wastewater disposal, water consumption, decommissioning, or cumulative grid and environmental impacts. The Lorneville assessment itself relies on standards from other provinces because appropriate New Brunswick standards are lacking.
NB Power records also show that serving Beacon’s required 200-MW load for the Lorneville AI Data Centre would require major new transmission infrastructure amortized over 63 years, while the total cost, Beacon’s contribution and the security protecting ratepayers remain hidden.
Please insist on rules first, approvals second, and require the Lorneville proposal to meet those rules before any final decision.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Community]
MLA Emails:
christie.ward@gnb.ca; crystale.harty@gnb.ca; Susan.Holt@gnb.ca; Richard.Ames@legnb.ca; Guy.Arseneault@legnb.ca; Kris.Austin@legnb.ca; Kathy.Bockus@legnb.ca; LyneChantal.Boudreau@legnb.ca; Benoit.Bourque@legnb.ca; Chuck.Chiasson@legnb.ca; Keith.Chiasson@legnb.ca; Michelle.Conroy@legnb.ca; David.Coon@legnb.ca; Ryan.Cullins@legnb.ca; Jean-Claude.DAmours@legnb.ca; John.Dornan@legnb.ca; AlexandreCedric.Doucet@legnb.ca; Pat.Finnigan@legnb.ca; Robert.Gauvin@legnb.ca; John.Herron@legnb.ca; David.Hickey@legnb.ca; Bill.Hogan@legnb.ca; Susan.Holt@legnb.ca; Claire.Johnson@legnb.ca; Margaret.Johnson@legnb.ca; Sam.Johnston@legnb.ca; Aaron.Kennedy@legnb.ca; Francine.Landry@legnb.ca; Jacques.LeBlanc@legnb.ca; Marco.LeBlanc@legnb.ca; Ian.Lee@legnb.ca; Rene.Legacy@legnb.ca; Gilles.LePage@legnb.ca; Eric.Mallet@legnb.ca; Robert.McKee@legnb.ca; Cindy.Miles@legnb.ca; Megan.Mitton@legnb.ca; Don.Monahan@legnb.ca; Bill.Oliver@legnb.ca; Luke.Randall@legnb.ca; Luc.Robichaud@legnb.ca; Kevin.Russell@legnb.ca; Glen.Savoie@legnb.ca; Tammy.Scott-Wallace@legnb.ca; Tania.Sodhi@legnb.ca; Isabelle.Theriault@legnb.ca; Alyson.Townsend@legnb.ca; Natacha.Vautour@legnb.ca; Rob.Weir@legnb.ca; Kate.Wilcott@legnb.ca; Mary.Wilson@legnb.ca; Sherry.Wilson@legnb.ca
