Verified project profile
Kakwa Data Processing Centre
New West Data Acquisition Corp. proposes multiple cryptocurrency data-processing pods at an existing industrial lease site in the Kakwa area. The AUC approved an 8.40 MW isolated gas plant in February 2026, and a Crown disposition for cryptocurrency activity took effect in June 2026. Greenview's September 9, 2026 agenda recommends approval of D26-087, but the reviewed package is not an issued municipal permit or meeting decision.
Project facts
Core scale, approval, employment, and schedule information, labelled by the type of evidence available.
Municipal file
D26-087Discretionary-use development-permit application scheduled for the September 9, 2026 Municipal Planning Commission meeting.
Sources [1]Proposed municipal limit
Up to 9.9 MWThe recommended motion applies this ceiling to the data-processing centre. It is not a measured load or evidence of approval.
Sources [1]AUC proceedingAUC proceedingA proceeding is the Alberta Utilities Commission's formal record for reviewing an application, including evidence, submissions, and a decision when issued.A proceeding number helps locate the record. The existence of a proceeding does not mean the application has been approved.Learn more →
30521Application 30521-A001 resulted in Decision 30521-D01-2026 and Approval 30521-D02-2026.
Sources [2], [3], [4]Workload
Cryptocurrency miningGreenview's agenda and Crown disposition identify the proposed activity as cryptocurrency data processing.
Sources [1]Subject property
Approx. 1.32 haThe municipal report describes the Crown-land lease site as approximately 3.26 acres. The survey identifies a smaller 0.248-hectare cryptocurrency activity area.
Sources [1]Crown disposition
DLO260092Effective June 15, 2026 and expiring January 22, 2044, or earlier with the primary disposition.
Sources [1]Energy and emissions
The 9.9 MW municipal limit and the 8.40 MW AUC-approved power plant describe different things. ADCW reports the proposed data-centre ceiling and purpose-specific generation separately and does not add them together.
Approved generation
8.40 MWFive Caterpillar G3520 natural-gas reciprocating engines.
Sources [3], [4]Grid relationship
Isolated and off-gridNon-grid-connectedThe facility has no electrical connection to Alberta's interconnected grid and relies on supply available to the site.It does not directly draw from or send electricity to that grid. Power-plant approvals and local impacts can still matter.Learn more →The AUC application says the plant would not connect to the Alberta Interconnected Electric System. The Crown disposition also requires standalone power.
Sources [2], [1]AUC construction deadline
June 30, 2026The approval required completion by this date unless otherwise authorized. The date passing does not prove construction was completed.
Sources [4]Environmental approval dependency
Status not confirmedThe AUC said construction could not begin until the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act industrial application was approved. The reviewed records do not confirm the later decision.
Sources [3]AER facility licence
F53063 amendment citedGreenview staff list an Alberta Energy Regulator facility licence amendment among the supporting records. The amendment itself was not included in the four documents reviewed by ADCW.
Sources [1]Water
The reviewed records do not quantify data-centre water demand or identify a cooling system. Recommended municipal conditions address runoff, groundwater, and watercourses but are not evidence of routine water use. [1]
Cooling and routine water demand
Not publicly quantifiedThe reviewed records do not identify a cooling design or quantify operational water withdrawalWithdrawal, consumption, and dischargeWithdrawal is water taken from a source. Consumption is the portion not returned to the same water system. Discharge is water released after use or treatment.These are different quantities. Check which one a water figure describes before comparing projects.Learn more →, consumption, or discharge for the data centre.
Sources [1]Recommended municipal safeguards
Runoff and watercourse protectionsIf adopted, the recommended permit conditions would require runoff not to exceed pre-development flows and would restrict impacts to groundwater, drainage, and watercourses. These are recommended conditions, not a verified issued permit.
Sources [1]Noise
Greenview staff report a highest modelled cumulative level of 39.7 dBA at the most affected receptor, below the applicable 40.0 dBA limit. The result comes from an applicant assessment and is not an operating measurement.
Highest modelledModelled versus measuredA modelled result is a prediction based on inputs and assumptions. A measured result comes from observations or instruments under particular conditions.A prediction is not verified operating performance. Check the location, period, operating scenario, and what the reported number actually represents.Learn more → cumulative sound
39.7 dBAGreenview staff report 39.7 dBA at the most affected receptor against a 40.0 dBA permissible level. This is applicant modelling, not an operating measurement.
Sources [1]Nearby residences
None known within 1.5 kmThe municipal report and survey state that no residence was known within 1.5 kilometres. This does not establish measured operating sound.
Sources [1]Indigenous context
Data centre projects sit within treaty territories and places with longstanding First Nations and Métis connections. This section brings together the public record on treaty geography, Indigenous ownership, consultation, and community concerns. Treaty boundaries alone cannot tell us which communities may be affected or how they view a project.
Consultation geography
Crown land within the consultation radiiThe applicant reported no First Nations reserve or Métis Settlement within the consultation radii. That statement does not establish whether Indigenous rights or interests may be affected.
Sources [2], [3]Consultation path
No Crown consultation directed for the AUC filingThe applicant said its land agent advised that the filing did not trigger Crown consultation notice. The AUC recorded that the applicant would follow Alberta Energy Regulator direction for the separate Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act process. These records do not establish consultation, consent, or any community's position.
Sources [2], [3]Approval and public process
The power plant approval, Crown disposition, Alberta Energy Regulator licence, environmental authorization, and municipal development permit are separate decisions. The municipal record reviewed by ADCW contains an approval recommendation, not the Commission's recorded vote or an issued permit.
Municipal status
Approval recommended, decision not reviewedGreenview administration recommended approval at the September 9, 2026 meeting. An agenda recommendation is not the Municipal Planning Commission's decision.
Sources [1]Land-use classification
Discretionary useA Data Processing Centre is discretionary in the Crown Land District under Land Use Bylaw 25-1000.
Sources [1]Post-decision notice
Minimum 21-day circulationThe agenda says an approved discretionary-use permit must be circulated for at least 21 days after the decision is issued.
Sources [1]Provincial land authorization
DLO260092 issuedThe disposition authorizes cryptocurrency-related commercial activity but requires compliance with all other applicable permits and approvals.
Sources [1]Other permits
Still separateThe recommended municipal conditions require safety-code permits and a roadside development permitDevelopment permitA municipality's approval allows a specified use or development on a particular site, subject to its land-use rules and any conditions.Separate provincial or utility approvals may still be needed. A permit does not establish that construction has begun or that the facility is operating.Learn more → before development begins.
Sources [1]Timeline
Observed decisions and future dates are kept distinct; projected milestones may change.
- Public record
Crown disposition DLO260092 takes effect for overlapping rural commercial cryptocurrency activity. [1]
- Public record
Greenview's Municipal Planning Commission agenda presents D26-087 with an administrative recommendation to approve the data-processing centre. The reviewed package does not record the Commission's decision. [1]
- Public record
Crown disposition DLO260092 is scheduled to expire, unless it ends earlier with the primary disposition or changes under applicable law. [1]
What we still don't know
Some details have not been made public or remain unresolved. We keep those gaps visible and update them when reliable information becomes available.
- The reviewed agenda package does not establish whether the Municipal Planning Commission approved, refused, or tabled D26-087, or whether an issued permit became effective after notice and appeal.
- The reviewed sources do not confirm whether the power plant met its June 30, 2026 construction deadline, received an extension, was completed, or entered service.
- The Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act industrial-approval status is not confirmed in the reviewed records.
- The number, design, operator, computing equipment, and operating status of the data-processing pods are not fully established.
- The relationship between the proposed 9.9 MW municipal ceiling and the approved 8.40 MW generation capacity is not explained.
- Cooling technology, routine water demand, wastewater, fire-protection water, fuel use, greenhouse-gas emissions, and measured operating noise are not publicly quantified in the reviewed records.
- Treaty geography and project-specific Indigenous consultation outcomes or community positions are not established in the reviewed sources.
Source record
Primary and official sources reviewed for this profile. Company disclosures support what the company said, not independent verification of future outcomes.
- September 9, 2026 Municipal Planning Commission meeting page: D26-087 is item 6.1, pages 44–72 of the agenda package
Municipal District of Greenview No. 16 · Municipal record · 2026-09-09
- Proceeding 30521: Rule 007 application for the Kakwa Isolated Power Plant
New West Data Acquisition Corp. / Alberta Utilities Commission · Regulatory filing · 2025-12-22
- Decision 30521-D01-2026: 8.40-Megawatt Kakwa Isolated Power Plant
Alberta Utilities Commission · Regulator · 2026-02-12
- Approval 30521-D02-2026: 8.40-Megawatt Kakwa Isolated Power Plant
Alberta Utilities Commission · Regulator · 2026-02-12