EverWind’s ‘Green’ AI Data Centre Could Burn Up to 54 Million Litres of Diesel Annually

Green ammonia developer EverWind has partnered with artificial intelligence company Anthropic to develop a 420-megawatt data centre campus at its Point Tupper site in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Announced in mid-October, the project will consist of two facilities. The first will have a capacity of 95 megawatts and is targeted for completion in late 2027. A second, 325-megawatt hyperscale facility designed for AI model training is expected to become operational in 2028.

Although the development has been presented as a single 420-megawatt project, its combined electricity requirements are estimated at approximately 3.68 terawatt-hours annually. That would represent around one-third of Nova Scotia’s total provincial electricity demand in 2025.

An analysis of the project has raised concerns about how the facilities will maintain continuous operations given the limitations of the local electricity grid and their planned reliance on backup generation.

First Data Centre to Depend on Diesel Generators During Grid Interruptions

The 95-megawatt facility has secured an interruptible electricity supply arrangement under the Extra Large Industrial Active Demand Control (ELIADC) tariff.

The arrangement provides access to lower-cost electricity but allows the Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) to schedule interruptions when necessary to protect other customers during periods of high demand.

According to the project details, interruptions are capped at 16 hours per day, five days a week, with a maximum of 219 hours per month or 1,314 hours annually.

Because a data centre requires continuous electricity to maintain its services, EverWind plans to install 42 megawatts of diesel generation alongside a 200-megawatt battery energy storage system.

The batteries will provide electricity during grid interruptions, but they will also need to be recharged. The analysis notes that the facility’s grid connection will be restricted to 95 megawatts during the relevant operating arrangements, preventing the batteries from being recharged using public electricity during an outage.

Analysis Estimates Annual Diesel Consumption Could Exceed 30 Million Litres

Under the proposed operating arrangement, the diesel generators would have to supply electricity to the data centre while also recharging the battery system.

The calculations estimate that the generators would need to operate for approximately two hours and 12 minutes for every hour of grid interruption. This includes one hour of electricity supply and an additional hour and 12 minutes to replenish the batteries.

If the maximum annual interruption allowance of 1,314 hours is reached, the generators could operate for nearly 2,900 hours and produce approximately 121 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

Using an estimated diesel consumption rate of 250 litres per megawatt-hour, the analysis puts annual fuel requirements at approximately 30.2 million litres. Under less efficient operating conditions, consumption could exceed 54 million litres.

The estimated volume would account for between 4.7% and 8.5% of Nova Scotia’s annual diesel imports, which average approximately 638 million litres.

Diesel Generation Could Add Up to 146 Kilotonnes of CO2 Emissions

The projected diesel consumption could produce between 81 and 146 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, according to the analysis.

That would add approximately 0.6% to 1.1% to Nova Scotia’s reported 2024 greenhouse gas emissions of 13,688 kilotonnes.

EverWind Terminals already operates a tank farm at Point Tupper with a storage capacity of 7.8 million litres. The analysis identifies the facility as an existing part of the infrastructure that could support the proposed fuel requirements.

However, storing and supplying the projected quantities of diesel would also involve fuel transportation, bunkering and spill-prevention measures at the coastal site.

Second Facility to Rely on Four Wind Farms

The planned 325-megawatt hyperscale data centre will have different electricity requirements because it is designed for AI model training, which can involve uninterrupted operations lasting from several days to months.

EverWind intends to supply the facility using 650 megawatts of generation capacity from four onshore wind farms: Bear Lake, Kmutnuk, Windy Ridge and Upper Afton.

The projects were originally registered to supply the developer’s green hydrogen plant but have since been repurposed for the data centre development.

The IESO has granted conditional approval for electricity generated by the wind farms to be transmitted to the facility through existing grid infrastructure.

Wind Generation Estimates Leave Annual Electricity Shortfall

The analysis estimates that the four wind farms would generate approximately 2.28 terawatt-hours of electricity annually if they achieved a 40% capacity factor.

However, the hyperscale facility is expected to require approximately 2.85 terawatt-hours each year if it operates continuously at its full 325-megawatt capacity.

This would leave an estimated annual electricity shortfall of 0.57 terawatt-hours.

The variability of wind generation also means that output could fall below the facility’s required baseline during periods when wind speeds are low.

The 200-megawatt battery system planned for the first data centre has already been allocated to managing interruptions under the ELIADC arrangement. The analysis notes that the system would also lack the capacity to provide electricity throughout a prolonged period of low wind generation.

Natural Gas Identified as Possible Backup for Hyperscale Facility

Natural gas generation is identified in the analysis as a possible way to address the second facility’s electricity deficit.

The Point Tupper site is located near a lateral connection to the Maritimes and Northeast pipeline, which already supplies natural gas to Port Hawkesbury Paper.

Using gas turbines to cover the estimated 0.57-terawatt-hour annual shortfall would produce fewer emissions than relying on diesel generation, according to the assessment.

However, additional gas-fired electricity would still contribute to the province’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Project Raises Questions About Nova Scotia’s Climate Targets

The analysis argues that emissions from the diesel generators and potential natural gas generation would need to be considered alongside Nova Scotia’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 53% below 2005 levels by 2030.

It also highlights the project’s dependence on fossil fuels to maintain electricity supply during grid interruptions and periods of insufficient wind generation.

Despite the scale of the proposed facilities and their projected energy requirements, the data centre developments are reportedly exempt from a formal environmental assessment under provincial policy.

The absence of such a review has raised concerns about how the local environmental consequences of the project’s energy infrastructure and backup generation will be assessed.