CRD directors call for review of potential AI data centre impacts on Vancouver Island

Large-scale artificial intelligence data centres require significant electricity and cooling infrastructure, prompting questions about future impacts on regional resources. (Andrey Rudakov)

The push to build more artificial intelligence infrastructure is prompting action in the Capital Region District (CRD), where two directors want to understand the potential impacts before the first AI data centre proposal arrives on southern Vancouver Island.

Jeremy Caradonna and Dave Thompson want the CRD to study what large-scale AI data centres could mean for the region, including potential impacts on electricity, water, the environment and land-use planning.

Their motion asks staff to examine the potential environmental, utility and land-use impacts of AI data centres, along with possible policy options for regulating them within the region.

No AI data centre has been formally proposed in the capital region, but the directors say now is the time to prepare before a major application arrives.

“We don’t want to be playing defence, we want to be playing offence,” Caradonna said.

“Local governments control their own land use, so if someone was to propose something like that in the City of Victoria, the City of Victoria is the decision maker and the same goes for Saanich, but if someone were to be proposed in one of the electoral areas of the CRD, the CRD is actually the land-use authority and they would be in the position of potentially adjudicating whether an AI data centre is allowed to be built or not.”

Caradonna says the discussion is not about opposing artificial intelligence technology, but about understanding the infrastructure demands that come with it.

“It’s not really about pro or con AI, but I think we definitely need to look at putting some guardrails on this technology and asking some hard questions about what the environmental impacts are,” he said.

Concerns over power, water and infrastructure

Large-scale AI data centres rely on powerful computing systems that can operate around the clock, creating significant demand for electricity.

The province of B.C. has already changed how large data centres access power, requiring them to compete for available electricity capacity rather than receiving connections on a first-come, first-served basis.

Local officials also want to better understand potential impacts related to water use, noise, heat and land-use decisions.

Cooling systems used to manage the heat generated by high-performance computing equipment have raised questions about how future facilities could affect communities already facing pressure on resources.

Balancing growth and local impacts

Supporters of AI infrastructure point to potential economic benefits, including investment, technology-sector growth and new jobs.

But Caradonna and Thompson say communities need a clearer understanding of both the opportunities and challenges before deciding whether these facilities are appropriate for the region.

The push for more oversight extends beyond the CRD. Victoria has also submitted motions through the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities calling for broader provincial and federal guidance on AI infrastructure.

A similar AI data centre has been proposed in Nanaimo, but there are currently no applications before the CRD.

If the motion passes the Environmental Services Committee, it will move to the CRD board for discussion. Caradonna says a staff report could take up to two months to complete