Data centre consultation / Proponents
Data Centre Engagement · Proponents and OperatorsCommunity Engagement for Data Centre Proponents
Data centre projects are being stopped on the public side of the file. The work that prevents it starts before the application does.
Projects are being stopped, and rarely by the engineering
In the United States, data centre projects cancelled after local opposition went from two in 2023 to more than fifty in the first seven months of 2026. Local moratoria and bans went from three enacted in 2023 to 381 by early August 2026.
In the first quarter of 2026 alone, at least 75 projects worth about US$130 billion were blocked or delayed, according to Data Center Watch. Canada is following the same line about a year behind. Councils in Ontario and Alberta have paused new data centre applications since July 2026, and the Alberta Utilities Commission refused a power plant for a data centre at Olds in August.
Power is the other gate. When the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) set an interim limit for large loads, 29 projects requested more than 16,000 megawatts, and 1,200 megawatts were allocated to two projects.
The projects that clear this are the ones that started the public work before the application did.
A proponent coming into Alberta has the chance to lay the groundwork first. That means finding out what a community is already worried about before anything is announced, and having the real answers ready for the questions that arrive. It also builds the record a regulator and a council will eventually read. The window for that work is open while the file is still internal, and it closes quietly.
reVerb works inside municipal structure. Our team includes people who have worked in government, so we know how an application moves through a municipality and where a project loses time. reVerb is a communications and engagement firm and does not lobby on a proponent's behalf. Alberta has its own record of what happens when this work starts late.
The Alberta landscape
Recent decisions by Alberta municipalities, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) and the courts.
- 9 September 2025
Rocky View County refuses Kineticor. 6 to 1. The impact on local agricultural producers was central to the decision.
- 6 March 2026
AUC closes the first Synapse application, Olds. Filing deficiencies, including an inadequate participant involvement program.
- March 2026
Olds development permit application withdrawn. The proponent withdrew its municipal development permit application after the AUC closure.
- 21 July 2026
Rocky View County makes data centres discretionary. Data Centre Campus moved from a permitted to a discretionary use, with council as the development authority.
- 28 July 2026
Rocky View County pauses new applications. 5 to 2, until a new regulatory framework is in place.
- August 2026
Residents seek judicial review, Vulcan County. Grounds include planning information released after the public hearing and inadequate notice.
- 13 August 2026
Court of King's Bench rules for Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation. The duty to consult claim proceeds to a December hearing.
- 17 August 2026
AUC denies the Synapse power plant, Olds. Location. Roughly 1,500 parties sought standing and 919 were granted it.
- 28 August 2026
Alberta weighs new data centre rules. The province is examining setbacks from populated areas, closed-loop cooling and noise requirements for data centres. More than 57 percent of town hall participants supported designated setbacks.
Sources: The Anchor, AUC closure letter, DiscoverAirdrie, CFTR, Calgary Journal, StrathmoreNow, APTN News, AUC Decision 30732-D01-2026, DiscoverAirdrie
Three years of rising opposition
Every measure of blocked data centre development sat near zero through 2024. All of them turned upward in 2025 and turned again in 2026.
United States, by year. 2026 covers January to July.
Source: Heatmap Pro, reported by Gizmodo and Heatmap News
United States, by year. 2026 runs to early August.
Source: Moratorium Nation inventory, data centre instruments only
All 38 active projects on the public record. Twenty-four rate 4 or 5, and they carry about 70 percent of published megawatts.
about 70 percent of published megawatts
Hover a band to see what it means.
- 1 Building or fully permitted, with power and a customer
- 2 Key approvals or contracts in hand, some steps left
- 3 Real progress, with a major approval or the customer pending
- 4 No secured power path or permits, or stalled by the proponent's own account
- 5 Insolvent, litigated, moratorium-bound or announcement only
reVerb assessment of the public record, 18 September 2026. Four factors are weighed, and the weakest sets the score: power path, land use and permits, opposition or litigation, and proponent and customer. Project records from Alberta Data Centre Watch. No individual project is identified.
What communities are weighing.
The concerns that come forward on data centre projects reach well past what a regulatory filing is built to answer.
Water use
How much water the site uses and where it comes from, especially after dry summers.
Jobs
Whether the jobs go to people who live in the region, and what artificial intelligence means for work more broadly.
Noise
What the site sounds like at night and at the property line, for as long as it operates.
Trust
Whether a large corporation will be open about what it knows and keep the commitments it makes.
Local resources
A sense that the community's land, water and power are being used with little real say in how.
Artificial intelligence
What the technology is for and what it represents for humanity.
A proponent carries the responsibility of building without harming the community, and of being transparent about how that is done. Doing that early, and on the record, is what a project needs to get built.
Data centre participant involvement and engagement
reVerb works with each proponent to build a program around its project, schedule and community. Common components on data centre projects include the following.
Early community research
Before the project is public, reVerb learns what people in the area are actually worried about, so the program starts from the community's own questions.
The proponent's own narrative
The project's story, key messages and spokespeople are set out before the first public mention.
Participant involvement program design
Programs built to each regulator's participant involvement requirements, such as AUC Rule 007 and Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) Directive 056 in Alberta, run on one schedule with a separate record for each regulator and support through any hearing.
Plain-language project information
Information packages put the engineering into language someone can understand, starting with the noise, water and power questions people raise first.
Consultation staff and inquiry line
Trained staff meet occupants, residents and landowners one on one, answer the inquiry line and log every contact until each question is closed.
Citizen working groups
A standing group gives nearby residents a structured way into the project while design choices are still open.
Municipal relationships
reVerb's team includes people who have worked in government. They help proponents understand how the municipality sees the project and engage council and administration from the start. reVerb is a communications and engagement firm and does not lobby on a proponent's behalf.
Media and issues monitoring
Coverage and online conversation are tracked through data centre media monitoring, so emerging issues reach the project team early.
Retaining a firm or hiring in house
A community engagement role inside the company holds relationships for as long as the site operates.
The months before filing ask for a different kind of capacity. Consultation staff cover a wide notification area, every contact is logged and every concern goes into a feedback table, sometimes under more than one regulator at once. In Alberta, AUC Rule 007 holds the applicant accountable for consultation carried out on its behalf, and expects the people doing it to understand the regulatory requirements and to have training and experience in consultation. reVerb is retained to deliver that work, and works alongside an in-house lead where one is in place.
Data centre projects can take years to reach a decision, and people on a project team change over that time. A retained firm keeps an unbroken record of every contact, concern and commitment from the first conversation onward, and lets the proponent's team focus on the work it does best.
Proponent data centre questions, answered.
How can reVerb help a data centre proponent?
Our regulatory consultant handles the participant involvement requirements. Why would we need reVerb?
Can we run engagement in house?
When should we call?
The project brings jobs and investment. Why would the community push back?
Does reVerb also work for municipalities?
The best time to start is before the project goes public.
If you are planning a data centre project, we would like to hear where things stand. Every engagement starts with a discovery call, so the program we propose is built around your project and schedule.
Or call 1.833.711.3114