Kevin O'Leary's proposed AI data center would be 'one of the largest single-site heat sources on the planet,' physicist warns

A proposed AI data center in Alberta, Canada, is prompting alarm over its potential to create heat.

A physicist commissioned by the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation said the project will become "one of the largest single-site heat sources on the planet" if it is built as planned, as The Energy Mix reported.

The project, Wonder Valley, is an AI-focused data center and gas power project under billionaire Kevin O'Leary's company O'Leary Digital. It's slated to go near Grande Prairie, Alberta. It would pair a nine-gigawatt power plant with computing operations across a roughly 65-square-kilometer site.

In an assessment prepared for the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Utah State University physicist Dr. Robert Davies argued that Wonder Valley would go far beyond what most people picture as a traditional data center.

Davies wrote that, realistically, producing 9 gigawatts of electricity would require "burning fuel at a continuous rate on the order of 16 to 18 GW, day and night, year-round."

Because the electricity would be used onsite, nearly all of that energy would ultimately be released as heat.

The report arrives as the project advances in the drought-affected region. Alberta already experiences environmental pressure from resource extraction, wildfire risk, and climate impacts.

The Mix reported that Alberta's Environment and Protected Areas department excused the project from undergoing a provincial environmental impact assessment. The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, on the other hand, is calling for a federal review.

Davies said, "[Wonder Valley] will be layering an enormous new thermal, acoustic, air-emissions, and water demand on top of an environment already fragmented by resource extraction — across territory in which the Cree Nation exercises treaty and harvesting rights."

He also called for a "whole systems analysis" in the report. Doing so would make sure that the process of creating Wonder Valley would actually address everyone's concerns. If construction goes through, assessment would make sure the project is truly beneficial to the local community.

Advanced computing can help improve forecasting, accelerate scientific research, and optimize clean energy systems. But the infrastructure behind it can also consume vast amounts of electricity and water.

Without strong oversight, rapid AI expansion can strain local grids, raise costs for nearby communities, and deepen concerns around pollution and social harms.

Nathan Ip, the NDP shadow minister for Technology and Innovation, told The Mix that Alberta doesn't have detailed standards for regulating data centers.

"Data centers, like all major projects, will have lasting effects on nearby communities, which is why we need clear regulations, strong safeguards, and proper oversight in place," Ip said. 

According to The Mix, the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has been preparing to argue in court to hold the Crown accountable in Canada. Its members believe that the Crown didn't fulfill its duty to consult the First Nation before giving a water license to Wonder Valley.

O'Leary Digital recently held its first open house in Grovedale, Alberta, where residents pressed company representatives for answers. Some attendees said the event only deepened their concerns about how a project of this size could affect the region for decades.

"The open house really didn't settle any of my concerns; it deepened them, if anything," said resident Casey Klein to The Energy Mix.

In a statement from the First Nation on Facebook, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine said, "This is a massive project with significant emissions, water use and, most alarming, [would] create a heat island in an area already ravaged by wildfire, drought, and climate change."

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