County of Grande Prairie issues statement after development permit for data centre approved

Sep 24, 2026 | 6:01 AM

What it calls “significant public interest in this project” has prompted the County of Grande Prairie to issue a statement on an approved development permit for what the statement calls a “proposed data centre.”

A development permit was approved on September 4 for what the permit calls a “data processing establishment” for three parcels of land along Range Road 62 between Sexsmith and Emerson Trail.

The permit would allow for five buildings, 15 generators and 15 cooling units.

The application was submitted in 2025. The county says that after public consultation, the land was rezoned industrial.

The statement from the county says the permit was approved under the existing Land Use Bylaw, adding that this has led to what it calls “important discussions” about public input and transparency.

The county’s statement says council will “review the process that led to this development permit.”

It also says that since the land use bylaw has allowed such facilities as a permitted use since 2003, public consultation was not needed, but acknowledges that the bylaw was approved in 2003, long before anyone was looking to build huge data centres.

The statement also says that a development permit being approved does not mean anything will be built.

Appeals can be filed until September 25.

The County of Grande Prairie has set up a page on data centres on its website.

by Curtis Galbraith