Prince George prepares for data centres

Frizzell says the timing is important because Prince George is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for the industry.

For years, data-centre development was considered unlikely because the city lacked the telecommunications infrastructure major operators require. However, Frizzell says a second high-speed fibre-optic connection added several years ago changed that equation significantly.

“Now that about three years ago, the new one got pushed through to Chetwynd. It means we truly are on the global information superhighway with redundant fiber,” said Frizzell. “There is an option for the large corporations to start locating here.”

Along with improved connectivity, Frizzell points to Prince George’s relatively inexpensive industrial land, skilled workforce and cooler climate as factors that could help attract investment.

Data centres are massive facilities that store and process digital information for everything from cloud computing and artificial intelligence to business and government services. While they can represent significant private investment, they also raise questions about electricity usage, water consumption, noise and long-term community benefits.

Frizzell says those are conversations the city should be having now rather than after developers submit applications.

“That’s what we’re going to be asking for at our next meeting,” he said. “And that is that staff go out, look at what the best practices are and what some of the big challenges have been, and propose a Prince George solution for us.”

A major focus of the discussion is expected to be electricity.

As demand for power grows across British Columbia, municipalities are increasingly evaluating how new industrial projects fit into broader economic development goals. Frizzell says one concept that has emerged in recent discussions is the idea of maximizing “jobs per kilowatt hour.”

The principle seeks to determine how many long-term local jobs are generated relative to the amount of electricity consumed.

“Part of the job of the city is to make sure that we are a livable city,” said Frizzell. “We absolutely need the industry. We absolutely need jobs. But we want to make sure that it’s done in a way that benefits the citizens as much as possible.”

The proposal has also generated discussion among other members of council.

In a recent Facebook post, Councillor Trudy Klassen argued that northern British Columbia should do more to create economic value from the region’s natural resources instead of watching potential wealth disappear through wildfires.

“You see those nuclear-bomb sized clouds of smoke from BC wealth going up in flames?” Klassen wrote. “We need to start capturing that energy instead of letting it burn our homes and build nothing but firefighting experience. Our forests should be building real local wealth.”

Klassen said she plans to ask staff for recommendations that keep regulation light and free-market focused. Among her suggestions are requiring data centres to provide or build their own privately financed power generation systems that remain separate from the public electrical grid.

She also suggested requiring facilities to make productive use of waste heat, potentially through greenhouse operations or district heating systems rather than releasing that energy into the atmosphere.

While Frizzell supports attracting investment, he says council must strike a balance between economic growth and maintaining quality of life for residents.

“To have a livable city here in Prince George, we have to make sure we got lots of jobs. We got to attract lots of investment,” said Frizzell. “But at the same time, part of the job of the city is to make sure that we have health top of mind, that we have cleanliness, and we have a happiness, quality of life in the city.”

Lessons from nearby Mackenzie could also help inform the discussion.

The community has been home to a data centre for more than five years. Mackenzie Mayor Joan Atkinson says not all facilities are the same, and communities need to understand the specific requirements of each proposal before making decisions.

“Well, that depends 100 per cent on who the company is and what their plans are and whether or not they need water,” said Atkinson. “Our data center does not need huge quantities of water.”

Atkinson noted that some facilities can require significant amounts of electricity, making available infrastructure a key consideration.

She said Mackenzie has not experienced major issues since welcoming its data centre and did not create special regulatory requirements specifically for the project.

“We did not make any special regulatory rules regarding data centers,” she said. “We’ve been into this for more than five years, so there hasn’t been any huge issues. They’ve been a great corporate citizen.”

Atkinson cautioned against adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, saying each proposal should be evaluated on its own merits based on factors such as power needs, water consumption, environmental impacts and available infrastructure.

“The district has to do some homework to determine what the environmental impacts will be,” she said. “It’s not a one size fits all across the board.”

For now, the notice of motion does not create any new regulations or approve any future data-centre developments. Instead, it would provide council with information about how other communities have approached the rapidly growing industry and help determine whether Prince George should adopt its own framework before major projects arrive.

As interest in data centres continues to grow, council’s upcoming debate could help shape how Prince George balances investment, infrastructure and community priorities in the years ahead.

by Nick Dube

Prince George prepares for data centres

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