Alberta Data Centre WatchIndependent public-interest tracking
← Alberta data centre project list

Verified project profile

Goldfinch Technology Park Data Centre

Goldfinch is Diode Ventures' proposed data centre park west of Carseland. Published draft Council minutes record planning approvals on August 11, 2026, not a project-specific development permit. AESO's 950 MW grid request remains at Stage 2 with dates under review. The future operator, workload, final cooling design and water demand are not publicly confirmed.

Diode Ventures
How to read this profilePublic recordProponent statementProponent projectionADCW context

Project facts

Core scale, approval, employment, and schedule information, labelled by the type of evidence available.

Public record

Planning area

Approximately 576 acres (233 hectares)

The June notice gives 576.34 acres. The marker represents the planning area, not a surveyed building location.

Sources [2]
Proponent statement

Developer

Diode Ventures

Diode describes itself as a Black & Veatch subsidiary that prepares the site for a future end user.

Sources [3]
ADCW context

Future operator and workload

Not confirmedSources [3]
Public record

Planning decision

August 11, 2026

Draft minutes record third reading of amended Bylaws 2025-32 and 2025-34.

Sources [1]
ADCW context

Construction or operation date

Not confirmedSources [3], [4]

Energy and emissions

The grid request establishes a proposed connection scale, not a commissioned facility or a guaranteed supply date.

Important distinction: 650 MW plus 300 MW equals the 950 MW request. These are stages of the same project and must not be counted again as separate campuses or added to the total. MW is capacity, not annual electricity consumption.
Public record

AESO request

P3102: 650 MW + 300 MW

Goldfinch Technology Park MPC Load, Stage 2. Both DTS stages have in-service dates under review in the August 2026 list.

Sources [4]
ADCW context

Final supply and grid upgrades

Not confirmed

Diode says AESO studies will determine needed upgrades. A queue entry does not grant construction approval or guarantee a connection.

Sources [3], [5]
ADCW context

Backup generation

Equipment and fuel not confirmed

No final generator inventory, fuel plan or operating hours were found.

Sources [3], [2]
ADCW context

Annual electricity use and emissions

Not quantified

No project-specific MWh/year or tonnes CO₂e/year estimate was identified. Connection capacity alone cannot establish either.

Sources [4], [3]

Water

Cooling selection and the full water balance remain unresolved. A commitment not to use local aquifer water for cooling does not establish zero site water use. [2], [3]

Proponent statement

Cooling technology

Final selection pending

Diode says the cooling strategy will be determined at the development-permit stage.

Sources [3]
Proponent statement

Local aquifer cooling water

Not proposed

WSP's June submission excludes local aquifer process water for cooling, while identifying domestic use and stored fire-protection water.

Sources [2]
ADCW context

Water demand and approvals

Not confirmed

No final daily or annual withdrawal, consumption or wastewater volume, supply allocation or project-specific water authorization was identified in the reviewed sources.

Sources [2], [3]
Public record

Water supply for Goldfinch

Not confirmed

The industrial park already has a pipeline carrying untreated water to CGC, a drywall manufacturer. The County has not confirmed that Diode's data centre will use it.

Sources [6]
Proponent statement

Rainwater and snowmelt

Storage proposed; final drainage design unresolved

WSP proposes temporarily holding rainwater and snowmelt on site to meet irrigation-season restrictions on releasing runoff. The final design for storing and managing this water is not yet confirmed.

Sources [2]

Noise

Noise studies are a future permit requirement, not evidence of demonstrated operating performance. The reviewed sources contain no numerical receptor results.

Proponent statement

Noise-impact assessment

Required at each development-permit stage

WSP's June submission describes this requirement. Numerical receptor tables were not found in the reviewed public package.

Sources [2]
Proponent statement

Mitigation

Proposed, not verified

Diode lists berms, landscaping, sound barriers, generator enclosures and mufflers as possible measures. Final specifications and measured performance are not available.

Sources [3]

Indigenous context

Data centre projects sit within treaty territories and places with longstanding First Nations and Métis connections. This section brings together the public record on treaty geography, Indigenous ownership, consultation, and community concerns. Treaty boundaries alone cannot tell us which communities may be affected or how they view a project.

ADCW context

Treaty geography

Treaty 7 territory

Geographic context only. It does not establish consultation, consent or a community's position on this proposal.

Sources [7]
ADCW context

Project-specific consultation

Not established in reviewed sources

Participants, concerns, outcomes and accommodation measures were not identified.

Sources [2], [3]

Approval and public process

Land-use planning, a development permit and construction are separate steps. The August decision record is explicitly a draft copy; the original June proposal is not the final approval instrument.

Public record

Planning bylaws

2025-32 and 2025-34 passed as amended

Draft minutes record resolutions CM-2026-08-03 and CM-2026-08-05. The Diode concept plan appears within the 2025-32 amendment. These minutes do not record separate passage of the originally proposed Bylaw 2025-33.

Sources [1], [2]
ADCW context

Next permit stage

Discretionary development permit

The June submission identifies a later discretionary permit review. ADCW has not verified an issued project-specific development permit.

Sources [2], [3]
Proponent statement

Detailed design

Still to be submitted

Diode identifies site layout, buildings, noise, servicing and construction timing as later permit details.

Sources [3]

Timeline

Observed decisions and future dates are kept distinct; projected milestones may change.

  1. Public record

    Application date recorded by AESO for P3102. [4]

  2. Public record

    County notice schedules a July 7 public hearing on the planning proposal. [2]

  3. Public record

    AESO's updated list records Stage 2 and both in-service dates under review. [4][5]

  4. Public record

    Published draft minutes record third reading of the amended planning and land-redesignation bylaws. [1]

What we still don't know

Some details have not been made public or remain unresolved. We keep those gaps visible and update them when reliable information becomes available.

  • An issued development permit, approved building layout, conditions and construction start have not been verified.
  • The future operator, tenants, workload and contracted compute capacity remain undisclosed.
  • Final grid connection dates, network upgrades, cost allocation and power-supply contracts are not confirmed.
  • The final cooling design, water source, allocation, annual demand and wastewater arrangements remain unresolved.
  • No numerical noise receptor assessment or final generator and cooling-equipment specifications were found.
  • Project-specific annual electricity consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions and backup-generator air emissions are not quantified.
  • The June public package lists supporting technical reports but does not reproduce them all. Listing a report does not establish its findings.
  • Final approved minutes and consolidated signed planning instruments should replace the draft minutes when published.
  • Project-specific Indigenous consultation outcomes, enforceable cleanup security and a binding operating schedule were not found.

Source record

Primary and official sources reviewed for this profile. Company disclosures support what the company said, not independent verification of future outcomes.

  1. August 11, 2026 Council minutes, draft copy: items 3.1–3.2

    Wheatland County · Municipal record · 2026-08-11; draft copy accessed 2026-08-30

  2. PL2025-005: June public-hearing notice, WSP submission letter and conceptual maps

    Wheatland County / WSP for Diode Ventures · Municipal record · 2026-06-03; submission letter 2026-06-01

  3. Goldfinch project updates

    Diode Ventures · Company disclosure · Accessed 2026-08-30

  4. August 2026 Connection Project List: P3102, row 173

    Alberta Electric System Operator · Regulator · 2026-08-05

  5. Connection Project Reporting

    Alberta Electric System Operator · Regulator · Updated 2026-08-05; accessed 2026-08-30

  6. Goldfinch Raw Water Line

    Wheatland County · Municipal record · Accessed 2026-08-30

  7. Treaty Boundary dataset

    Government of Canada Open Government Portal · Government database · Modified 2026-06-29