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

Verified project profile

Malachite One Data Centre

Emerald Energy Technologies, a wholly owned Tourmaline subsidiary, proposes a three-phase AI and high-performance-computing campus on Crown land beside the Banshee Gas Plant. The concept includes up to 7.1 million square feet, 930 MW of on-site natural-gas generation, and a 74.9 MW AESO grid-load request. Yellowhead County has received the concept for information, but project-specific construction approvals have not been confirmed.

Emerald Energy Technologies Corp. (Tourmaline Oil Corp. subsidiary)
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.

Proponent projection

Full-build concept

Up to 7.1 million sq. ft.

A three-phase proponent concept, not approved building area. Phase 1 lists 2.0 million square feet and Phase 2 lists 4.7 million square feet.

Sources [2]
ADCW context

Proposed investment

Up to CA$20 billion

Alberta Major Projects describes up to CA$15 billion for the data centre and CA$5 billion for associated power generation. These are estimates, not committed or financed expenditures.

Sources [1]
Proponent projection

Projected operating life

30 years

A proponent planning assumption. No approved operating term or decommissioning plan was found in the reviewed sources.

Sources [2]
Proponent projection

Target construction

Beginning in 2027

The developer projects first revenue in 2028 and full buildout in 2030. These dates remain dependent on approvals, financing, procurement, a customer, and construction.

Sources [2], [1]
ADCW context

Data-centre employment

300 growing to 700 claimed

The presentation's operating estimate conflicts with Alberta Major Projects, which reports 300 to 500 long-term data-centre jobs. Neither source supplies a phase-by-phase staffing plan.

Sources [2], [1]
Proponent projection

Power-facility employment

40 to 60 full-time positions claimed

The presentation also projects 500 to 1,000 construction workers during shorter power-facility construction bursts. These are proponent estimates, not observed employment.

Sources [2]
Proponent projection

2032 County tax estimate

Approximately CA$52.4 million

Emerald's projection assumes a CA$15 billion build, 50% assessable assets, and specified building-and-structure and machinery-and-equipment mill rates. It is not a County forecast, tax agreement, or guaranteed payment.

Sources [2]

Energy and emissions

The concept combines proposed on-site natural-gas generation with an active AESO grid-load request. Its published phase and equipment figures do not fully reconcile, and none represents measured operating demand.

Important distinction: The Phase 3 table lists 930 MW of generation and 74 MW from the grid but reports 1,104 MW total. The components add to 1,004 MW. AESO separately lists P3114 at 74.9 MW. ADCW does not use the unexplained 1,104 MW figure.
Proponent projection

Proposed on-site generation

930 MW at full build

Natural-gas generation proposed to serve the data centre. This is neither approved generation nor measured data-centre load.

Sources [2], [1]
Public record

AESO grid request

P3114 at 74.9 MW

AESO's August 2026 list identifies Banshee Data MPC Load as active at Stage 2, with a November 1, 2027 in-service date. A queue record is not regulatory approval, a guaranteed connection, or operating demand.

Sources [5]
ADCW context

Full-build arithmetic

Published total does not reconcile

The Phase 3 table reports 1,104 MW total, but its listed 930 MW generation and 74 MW grid components add to 1,004 MW. ADCW leaves the extra 100 MW unresolved.

Sources [2], [5]
ADCW context

Early generation schedule

Equipment and phase figures need clarification

The schedule describes eight 30 MW units during 2027 to 2028, which equals 240 MW, without explaining how that equipment plan relates to the Phase 1 table's 100 MW generation figure.

Sources [2]
Proponent projection

Natural-gas demand

Up to 150 million cubic feet/day

The developer's Phase 3 full-build estimate, not measured fuel use or a disclosed gas-supply contract.

Sources [2], [1]
Proponent projection

Optional carbon capture

Up to 2.8 million tonnes CO₂/year claimed

Emerald projects carbon capture beginning in 2031 and says it could capture approximately 90% of power-plant carbon dioxide. CCS is not part of initial operation. The presentation says the storage reservoir is permitted but does not identify the permit or establish approval of the Malachite capture, transportation, and injection system.

Sources [2], [1]
ADCW context

Project emissions

Complete estimate not published

The presentation does not provide a complete annual greenhouse-gas inventory for each operating phase, including years before optional CCS begins, residual emissions after capture, upstream gas emissions, or grid electricity.

Sources [2]

Water

Emerald proposes primarily closed-loop air-based cooling, supplementary evaporative cooling, and six possible water sources. Its 0.05 m³/second river figure is a proposed diversion rate, not confirmed consumption or an approved project water supply. [2], [7]

Proponent statement

Cooling and process-water design

Primarily air-based; supplementary water cooling proposed

Emerald says the data centre would primarily use closed-loop air-based cooling, with evaporative cooling available during warmer conditions. Most proposed water demand is associated with power-plant steam generation rather than routine data-centre cooling. No complete project water balance has been published.

Sources [2]
ADCW context

Proposed water supply

Diversion rate published; project authorization not identified

Emerald proposes the Embarras and McLeod rivers, shallow and deep groundwater, recycled power-plant water, and water recovered through future carbon capture. Its combined river rate is 0.05 m³/second, equivalent to 4.32 million litres per day if continuous, but a diversion rate is not confirmed consumption. Alberta's viewer shows nearby Tourmaline oil-and-gas authorizations, including Embarras River Licence 406533 for 80,000 m³/year; those records do not identify Malachite One or establish its water authorization. Emerald also says about 1.5 litres would return to the atmosphere for each litre withdrawn, but provides no engineering water balance, recovery assumptions, water-quality analysis, or approved return route. Atmospheric release is not the same as returning water to either source watershed.

Sources [2], [7]

Noise

Project-specific noise evidence is shown when it is available. A predicted sound level is not a measurement from an operating facility.

ADCW context

Project-specific noise evidence

Not publicly disclosed

ADCW's noise-specific review on August 29, 2026 did not identify a project-specific noise-impact assessment, predicted sound level at the nearest residence, or detailed mitigation plan in public sources.

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 6 territory

The federal historical treaty-boundary dataset places the approximate project area within Treaty 6. This is geographic context and does not establish project-specific consultation, effects, consent, or community positions.

Sources [8]
ADCW context

Project-specific consultation

Public record not identified

Emerald lists First Nation consultation adequacy as a required process but does not identify the communities consulted, the Crown's consultation file, issues raised, accommodation measures, or an adequacy decision.

Sources [2]

Approval and public process

Council received the concept for information only. The presentation identifies utility, environmental, Crown-land, consultation, rezoning, and development approvals as required steps, but it does not provide project-specific approval numbers.

Public record

County stage

Presentation received as information

Council unanimously accepted the June 23 presentation as information. This was not rezoning, a development permit, or an expression of project approval.

Sources [3], [4]
Public record

Pecuniary-interest declarations

Two Council members left for the item

Mayor Wade Williams and Councillor Shallen Erickson declared pecuniary interests due to family and left during the presentation. The minutes provide no further explanation. The declarations are recorded for transparency and do not, by themselves, establish misconduct.

Sources [4]
ADCW context

AUC status

No active project-specific application identified

No active application under Malachite One, Emerald Energy Technologies, or a clearly project-specific Banshee power-generation description was identified in the AUC current-applications list as of August 27, 2026.

Sources [6]
ADCW context

Environmental approvals

Project-specific records not identified

The presentation lists EPEA and Water Act approvals as required. ADCW did not identify an Emerald or Malachite-specific authorization in the reviewed provincial viewers. Existing Tourmaline oil-and-gas records near Banshee cannot be treated as Malachite approvals.

Sources [2], [7]
ADCW context

Crown-land tenure

Required; disposition number not published

The province and developer place the concept on Crown land. The presentation lists a public-lands lease as required but supplies no issued Malachite disposition or lease number.

Sources [1], [2]
Proponent statement

Municipal approvals

Rezoning and development permit still required

The presentation says forestry-to-industrial rezoning and a development permit would be needed before the proposed buildings, setbacks, access, and related works could be authorized.

Sources [2]

Timeline

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

  1. Public record

    The application date shown for AESO Project P3114 Banshee Data MPC Load. AESO's August 2026 list classifies the 74.9 MW request as active at Stage 2. [5]

  2. Public record

    Emerald and Tourmaline presented Malachite One to Yellowhead County Council. Two Council members declared pecuniary interests and left for the item; the remaining Council unanimously accepted the presentation as information. [3][4]

  3. Proponent projection

    Emerald's projected construction start. No approved or binding start date has been identified. [2][1]

  4. Public record

    AESO's current in-service date for the P3114 grid-load request. Queue dates can change and do not establish commercial operation. [5]

  5. Proponent projection

    Emerald's projected first-revenue year and start of operating employment. [2]

  6. Proponent projection

    Emerald's projected full-build year for the three-phase data centre and generation concept. [2][1]

  7. Proponent projection

    Emerald's projected start for optional carbon capture and sequestration. [2]

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.

  • The customer, tenant, data-centre operator, final workload mix, and binding compute commitments have not been publicly identified.
  • The actual compute load behind the proposed generation and grid figures has not been disclosed.
  • The Phase 3 total is 100 MW higher than the sum of its displayed generation and grid components, and the early turbine schedule is not reconciled with the Phase 1 generation table.
  • The final legal lands, site boundary, Crown-land disposition, access routes, and total disturbed area are not published in the reviewed sources.
  • Project-specific AUC, EPEA, Water Act, Crown-land, rezoning, and development-permit application numbers and outcomes remain unconfirmed.
  • The communities consulted, issues raised, accommodation measures, and consultation-adequacy outcome are not public in the reviewed sources.
  • A complete phase-by-phase water balance, diversion schedule, consumption estimate, return or discharge route, water quality, and drought restrictions have not been published.
  • The basis for the claim that approximately 1.5 litres would return to the atmosphere for each litre withdrawn has not been independently substantiated.
  • Noise modelling, air-emissions modelling, complete greenhouse-gas estimates, emergency planning, wildlife and wetland effects, and mitigation commitments have not been published.
  • The capture facility, transportation system, injection approvals, storage permit number, monitoring plan, long-term liability, and timing for optional CCS are not established in the reviewed record.
  • The employment estimates, workforce percentages, local procurement, property-tax assumptions, and community-benefit commitments have not been independently verified.
  • Financing, gas and electricity contracts, equipment procurement, construction commitments, decommissioning, reclamation, and financial assurance are not confirmed.

Source record

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

  1. Malachite One Data Centre

    Government of Alberta Major Projects · Government database · Accessed 2026-08-27

  2. Malachite One Data Centre presentation

    Emerald Energy Technologies / Yellowhead County · Company disclosure · 2026-06-23

  3. June 23, 2026 Council meeting record

    Yellowhead County · Municipal record · 2026-06-23

  4. June 23, 2026 Council meeting minutes

    Yellowhead County · Municipal record · 2026-06-23

  5. Connection Project Reporting

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

  6. Current applications

    Alberta Utilities Commission · Regulator · Accessed 2026-08-27

  7. Authorizations issued under the Water Act or EPEA

    Government of Alberta · Government database · Accessed 2026-08-27

  8. Treaty Boundary dataset

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