Gas Plants and Secret NDAs Power the Data Center Land Grab
July 8, 2026
From Edmonton’s gas-fired expansions to Hamilton’s municipal NDAs, tech giants are bypassing public oversight to secure energy-intensive infrastructure during a global heat crisis. These projects shift the burden of grid instability and rising electricity costs onto local residents while shielding corporate hyperscalers from democratic accountability and environmental scrutiny.
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Data centers should benefit the cities that power them
Cities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America must ensure AI infrastructure development benefits local communities and leads to sustainable economic growth.
- AI governance
- media and technology
- geopolitics
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Smith’s Plan for a Huge AI Data Centre Alarms Experts
The project near Edmonton will be powered by a giant gas plant.
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US heatwave raises alarms over AI data centre energy demands
US heatwave exposes critical strain on power grids from growing energy demands of AI data centres.
- geopolitics
- structural power
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It may be almost impossible to make data centers pay their ‘fair share’ of electricity costs
How much your electricity costs depends on some seriously complicated calculations. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Many major tech companies have pledged to pay their fair share of the costs associated with generating and transmitting more electricity to serve large data centers. But ratepayers across the…
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Hamilton-owned corporation signs NDA over proposed AI data centre
While municipalities have relatively little control over data centre approvals, NDAs reduce transparency for major projects that could change the communities where they’re built.