A citizen's checklist

What Alberta Should Ask For

23 questions to take to your council. Alberta already requires one of them, and part of 3 more.

1Alberta already requires
3Partly in place
19Not required at all

Twenty-nine projects have asked Alberta’s grid for more than 16 gigawatts. The grid operator has room for about 1,200 megawatts, and it is already spoken for. 24

Our reading, not a source claim

When demand outruns supply by that much, the seller sets terms. Alberta’s instinct is the one oil taught it — capital is scarce, we are a price-taker, move fast, don’t ask for much. In the AI buildout that instinct is backwards: capital is abundant and siting is scarce. Alberta has power-ready land, cold air, cheap gas, legal stability and a government that can say yes inside a year. It has been charging for the land and giving away the other four.

One honest caveat, because it cuts against us. That 16 GW is an upper bound on interest, not a measure of demand. Ohio saw about 30,000 MW of requests become 5,642 MW of signed contracts once a real tariff existed — an 81% collapse. 31 Texas now makes large loads disclose the same project filed elsewhere, because filing everywhere is a known game. 34 So never run Alberta’s 16 GW as a straight leverage multiple. At Ohio’s conversion rate it is roughly 3 GW — still two and a half times what Alberta can connect, so the argument survives. It just survives honestly. And it points at the better conclusion: a term sheet is the cheapest instrument ever invented for finding out who is serious.

Below are 23 terms. Each says what to ask, the words to use at the microphone, why it matters, and who already requires it. Where Alberta already has the rule, or part of it, the card says so. Crediting those is what makes the rest worth reading.

Power

The grid is the scarce thing. These are the terms that decide whether Alberta rents it out or gets an asset back.

Curtail data centres first on system stress. Already law: keep it past 2035, and close the gaps below 75 MW.

Alberta already requires this
Ask it like this

The law says data centres get cut before my house when the grid runs short. Is this project big enough to be covered, and what protects us after that rule expires in 2035?

Alberta already answered the fear that data centres take power from homes in a cold snap. If the grid has to shed load, every data centre of 75 MW or more is cut before anyone else, and bridged sites are cut earlier still, as soon as the grid operator determines supply will be inadequate. Three gaps remain: that earlier cut reaches bridged sites only; sites under 75 MW aren't covered unless the grid operator lowers the bar; and the whole regulation expires on May 31, 2035.

Who already does itAlberta, Alta Reg 117/2026: s.10 (who is cut first), s.2 (the 75 MW line, which the AESO may lower), s.12 (review by May 31, 2030; expires May 31, 2035). Already law, read in the regulation itself. 44

#1

Behind-the-fence generation must be separately metered and required to offer into the Alberta market.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

There's a gigawatt of private generation going up behind that fence. On the night the grid is short, can Alberta buy any of it?

Curtailing the load means the data centre stops drawing. It does not give Alberta the generation sitting behind the fence. Alberta's optional "tethered" route puts a project's new plant on the grid instead (see ask 6), but a campus that skips that route, or runs off-grid, owes the grid nothing. Ireland makes it the rule for every new data-centre connection of 10 MVA or more.

Who already does itIreland, CRU/2025236 (12 Dec 2025) — ≥10 MVA sites must have dispatchable generation matching import capacity, separately metered, participating in the wholesale market. Not a novel idea. Copyable law. 30

#2

Build the interconnection even if the project runs off-grid.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

If this site never connects to the grid, what happens to that generation when the data centre leaves?

An off-grid campus with its own power plant is an island. A wire costs a fraction of the plant and is the difference between a stranded asset and a provincial one.

30

#3

Declare the power plant's afterlife at permitting, in a binding document.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

That gas plant is built for 30 to 40 years. The computers inside get replaced every three to five years. What happens to the plant when the tenant goes?

Alberta is permitting 30-year infrastructure to serve 10-year demand. Whether that plant ends up a stranded liability or a merchant generator firming Alberta's grid is decided by contract now, at permitting — not in ten years when everyone who signed it has moved on. "We'll decide later" is not an answer.

#4

The load pays for the upgrades it causes — with minimum take, collateral and an exit fee.

Partly in place
Ask it like this

Who pays for the transmission this project needs — the company, or my power bill?

Partly in place. The unresolved half is bulk-upgrade allocation, and it is being decided in AESO's Phase 2 large-load intake this fall. That is the live proceeding and almost nobody is watching it.

Who already does itOhio: 85% minimum take, 12-year term, exit fee of three years' minimum charges. Kansas: 80% minimum bill, collateral of two years' bills. Georgia: ≥100 MW pays upstream generation and T&D. All three still compete for data centres. 313233

#5

Bring your own firm supply. Make it the rule, not the fast lane.

Partly in place
Ask it like this

Is this project adding its own generation, or just taking from what's already there?

Alberta built the right route. A “tethered” data centre must bring new generation onto the grid at least equal to its own peak draw, and can't take more from the grid than that generation adds. But it's optional. Opting in buys a faster place in the connection queue. A project that doesn't opt in doesn't have to bring anything.

Not yet verifiedA tethered project can run on grid power for up to 3 years while its own plant is built. Those “bridged” sites are the first to be cut if supply runs short.

Who already does itAlberta, Alta Reg 117/2026: s.5(1) (the AESO “may designate”), s.5(4)(c) (generation at least equal to maximum demand), s.6 (queue priority), s.8 (grid draw capped at what the generation supplies), s.9(5) (3-year bridge). The route exists; the requirement doesn't. 44

#6

Water

In a closed basin nobody gets new water by applying. They buy a farmer's senior licence, quietly.

Cooling design disclosed and capped — litres per MWh published, enforceable annual cap, nothing drawn from potable supply.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Name the cooling design. Publish the consumptive litres per megawatt-hour. What is the hard annual cap, and who enforces it?

"Closed-loop" is a choice a company makes, not a guarantee it signed. Most alarming numbers online describe evaporative-cooled facilities on other continents — which is exactly why a named design with a number beside it beats an argument.

Who already does itHenry County VA and Susquehanna County PA both mandate closed-loop cooling outright — done by counties, not states. 3941

#7

The water licence is held in the proponent's own name — not the municipality's.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Whose name is on the water licence? If the company walks away, who is left holding it?

Wonder Valley's licence is held by the municipality. That puts the public body on the hook for a private draw.

15

#8

A public register of every water-licence transfer to a data centre — source, volume, price, date.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

In a closed basin, nobody gets new water by applying. They buy someone's senior licence. Who sold, how much, and for what?

The province's line on new licences is technically correct and misses the mechanism entirely. Senior licences belong to farmers, and a transfer is a quiet administrative act that draws no town hall. Publishing every one costs nothing and changes everything.

15

#9

Measured, not modelled — annual, independently verified reporting.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Is that water number measured at the meter, or modelled in a spreadsheet by the applicant?

A modelled figure is a forecast with a logo on it.

Who already does itThe EU already requires this of every facility above 500 kW IT load, potable water included, public since 15 May 2024. 35

#10

Land & end of life

The buildings outlast the tenant. Somebody pays to take them down.

Industrial land first. Prime farmland requires an explicit public trade-off, not a rezoning.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

Why this parcel? What industrial land was looked at first, and why was it rejected?

Farmland converts once. A rezoning is a decision made in a room; a trade-off is a decision made in public.

#11

Noise modelled at the nearest home, not the fence line — enforceable limit, independent monitoring.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

What is the modelled noise level at my house, not at your property line?

A fence-line number is a number about the fence.

Who already does itHenry County VA: 50 dBA at the property line, 1,000-foot setback from non-industrial. 41

#12

Decommissioning plan and financial security posted before construction — for the data centre AND its generation.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

What money is posted, today, before the first shovel, to take this down if it fails? Who holds it?

Alberta already knows exactly how this ends. The Auditor General found $1.8 billion of security held against $51.9 billion of oil sands reclamation liability — about three and a half cents on the dollar, flagged since 1999. There are also $253.9 million of unpaid rural municipal taxes, roughly 60% owed by companies that no longer exist. The province has the tools. It has never pointed them at data centres.

Who already does itThree Alberta templates — MFSP staged deposits, the wind/solar schedule (30% of estimated cost at registration, 60% at year 15), municipal surety bonds. Three foreign ones done by COUNTIES: Susquehanna PA (net cost +10%, posted before construction, 12 months to remove), Mifflin PA (≥100%, re-estimated decennially), Henry County VA (full cost, reviewed every three years). Nothing here needs inventing, and no municipality needs to wait for the province. 3940414345

#13

A heat plan — a reuse commitment, or a published cost-benefit analysis of why not.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Where does the waste heat go?

Alberta throws away what Sweden sells.

Who already does itStockholm data centres are PAID about €190,000 per megawatt of heat per year. Germany's EnEfG §11 requires 10% reused energy rising to 20% by 2028. EU Art. 26(6) requires reuse above 1 MW unless a CBA shows it infeasible — which is exactly this ask. 363738

#14

Money & municipality

The gross tax number is marketing. These are the questions that find the net one.

Net fiscal contribution disclosed — assessment after every abatement and exemption.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

What does this project pay after every exemption and abatement? Not the gross number — the net one.

The gross number is marketing.

#15

Assessment-concentration protection — a project-funded stabilisation reserve and provincial revenue-sharing above a threshold.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

Once this is the largest ratepayer in the county, can council still afford to say no to it?

A council that depends on one tenant for its tax base stops being a regulator. Note honestly: we could not source a per-municipality assessment-concentration figure for Alberta. NOT ESTABLISHED — what would settle it is the county's own assessment roll.

#16

A construction-phase agreement — roads, housing, water, emergency services.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

Two thousand workers arrive for three years, then leave. Who pays for the roads, the housing pressure and the ambulance calls?

The construction boom and the permanent cliff are the same project. Only one of them shows up in the announcement.

#17

An independent benefit study before any incentive. No public money moves without one.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Before we give up a dollar of public money — who studied whether it pays back, and who paid for that study?

An applicant-funded benefit study is a sales document.

Who already does itQuébec allocates scarce megawatts comparatively — on benefits returned per megawatt, not first-come. 42

#18

People & consent

Construction employs thousands. Operations employ dozens. Both are true.

Local hire and local contract commitments in writing, with reporting.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

How many permanent local jobs — in writing, with annual reporting, not in a press release?

Construction employs thousands. Operations employ dozens. Both numbers are true and only one gets said out loud.

#19

Free, prior and informed consultation — and equity where there is interest.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Which Nations were consulted, when, and what was offered beyond a meeting?

Equity is durable; consultation is procedural. It is also the strongest available protection against the legal risk that has already stalled a project in this province — the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation's litigation over Wonder Valley's water licence.

15

#20

A named accountable person, and written answers on the record.

Partly in place
Ask it like this

Who is the named person accountable for these commitments, and will the answers be in writing?

A municipal letter of support is already required for grid qualification. That is a thin proxy for consent and should not be mistaken for one.

1

#21

Alberta's share

What Alberta gets beyond rent — including one idea nobody on earth has tried yet.

Compute in kind — a share of the capacity, not just the rent.

Alberta does not require this
Our reading, not a source claim
Ask it like this

Alberta is supplying the power, the land, the water and the permit. What does Alberta get besides rent?

OUR READING, and we want to be precise about it: we went looking for a government anywhere on earth that made compute access a condition of hosting. There isn't one. The UK's AI Growth Zone criteria contain no such requirement; the closest thing globally is a US DOE land lease that merely PERMITS bidders to offer it. That absence is the opportunity, not the refutation — Alberta invented royalty-in-kind for bitumen. But this is a proposal and Alberta would be first. Anyone who tells you it is standard practice is wrong.

Who already does itNone. Anywhere. Québec's benefits-per-megawatt test is the nearest relative, and it is about benefits, not compute. 42

#22

Annual public reporting of power, water, emissions, jobs and local spend, on one standard template.

Alberta does not require this
Ask it like this

Will this project report its power, water, emissions, jobs and local spend every year, publicly, on the same template as everyone else?

Terms nobody measures are terms nobody gets.

Who already does itThe EU template already exists and can be copied outright — every facility above 500 kW IT load reports energy, water including potable, heat reuse and renewables. 35

#23

What to copy

The objection to every term on this page is “demand that and they’ll build in Texas.” Texas has terms. So does Ohio, Georgia, Kansas, Ireland, Germany and Québec. Every jurisdiction below adopted these while still competing for data centres. Three of them are counties, not states — which means an Alberta municipality does not have to wait for the province.

TermWho has itWhat it actually says
Generation must serve the marketIreland 30At or above 10 MVA: dispatchable generation matching import capacity, separately metered, must participate in the wholesale market
Minimum take and exit feeOhio 3185% of contracted capacity, 12-year term, exit fee of three years’ minimum charges
CollateralKansas 3280% minimum bill, collateral equal to two years of minimum bills
Pay upstream costsGeorgia 33100 MW and above pays upstream generation and transmission; contracts filed with the regulator
Disclose duplicate applicationsTexas 34Must disclose the same project filed elsewhere; backup generation deployable on ERCOT’s order
Mandatory reportingEU 35Every facility above 500 kW IT load reports energy, water including potable, heat reuse, renewables
Waste-heat reuseEU · Germany 3637Above 1 MW must reuse unless a cost-benefit analysis shows it infeasible; Germany 10% rising to 20% by 2028
Heat as a marketStockholm 38About €190,000 per megawatt of heat per year, paid to the data centre
Decommissioning bondsThree US counties 394041Net cost plus 10%, posted before construction; at least 100% re-estimated every ten years; full cost reviewed every three
Merit-based allocationQuébec 42Megawatts allocated on benefits returned per megawatt, compared against each other rather than first-come

The window that is open right now

Most of this page is about what Alberta should do. One item is about what is being decided this season. The AESO’s Phase 2 large-load intake is where it gets settled who pays for the transmission upgrades that large loads cause — the company, or everyone’s power bill. Phase 1 sidestepped the question by admitting only projects that needed no reinforcement. Phase 2 cannot. 1

It is a technical proceeding almost nobody is watching, and it will do more to decide the shape of this buildout than any town hall.

What we are sure of, and what we are not

  • Sourced. Every foreign precedent above is a named, dated instrument, linked on Citations. Where we read a law-firm summary instead of the primary document, the citation says so.
  • Our reading. The gold cards are interpretation, not fact. The leverage argument is ours. So is the case for compute in kind — no government anywhere has secured compute in exchange for hosting, so ask 22 is a proposal in which Alberta would be first, and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.
  • Not established. We could not source what multi-gigawatt gas demand does to Alberta heating bills, or per-municipality assessment concentration. We are not going to estimate toward a plausible number. What would settle the second one is a county’s own assessment roll.
  • Read in the regulation itself. Alberta’s existing rules rest on Alta Reg 117/2026, which we checked against the official King’s Printer text rather than the law-firm summaries we started from. 44 It confirmed one rule as in force (curtailment) and showed another (bring your own supply) is optional, so that one is marked partial.
  • Corrected. An earlier draft of this work said no jurisdiction requires behind-the-fence generation to serve the public grid. Ireland does. 30 It also listed curtailment as something Alberta should demand; Alberta already requires it. Both corrections are in the list above rather than quietly deleted.

See the worries these terms answer on Common Concerns, and the projects they would attach to on the tracker.