Two kilometres northwest of Indus, Beacon AI Centers wants to build a natural gas power plant with up to 1,494 megawatts of generating capacity, most of it earmarked for a data centre campus next door.
Key facts
- Beacon AI Centers proposes a gas power plant of up to 1,494 megawatts two kilometres northwest of Indus.
- About 1.2 gigawatts would serve co-located, on-site data halls, according to the application filed with the Alberta Utilities Commission.
- A public submission to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada cites about 1.5 million litres of water a day for cooling, a figure not confirmed in Beacon’s own filings.
- The Alberta Utilities Commission opened public hearings on the application in mid-August 2026 and had issued no decision as of August 23, 2026.
- Rocky View County approved its part in June 2025, and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada found on March 10, 2026 that no further assessment was required.
What Beacon Is Actually Proposing
The plant would supply roughly 1.2 gigawatts to co-located AI and high-performance-computing data halls, with the remainder covering plant and site operations. Water use is where the project draws the sharpest questions. A public submission to the federal assessment agency cites about 1.5 million litres of municipal water a day, close to 1,500 cubic metres, for cooling. That figure has not been confirmed in Beacon’s own filings.
Rocky View County reports hearing from residents about noise, emissions, water availability and the protection of agricultural land. Some residents commenting on the project publicly have asked why the plant cannot run closed loop with its cooling water recovered and reused, rather than drawing new municipal supply.
The Process So Far
The project has already cleared two hurdles. Rocky View County council approved the Beacon AI Hub area structure plan on June 17, 2025. The federal agency determined on March 10, 2026 that the project needs no further federal Impact Assessment Act review, though that determination does not itself authorize construction.
The remaining hurdle is the one that matters most for how the plant actually operates. The Alberta Utilities Commission opened public hearings on the thermal power plant application in mid-August, and no decision had been issued by August 23. Construction permits still need to follow whatever the AUC decides. The commission showed on August 17 that it will turn down a gas plant sited too close to homes, rejecting the Olds proposal that drew about 1,500 requests to take part.
What Neighbours Still Do Not Know
Alberta wants the investment a project like this represents. Rural communities still have to live beside the infrastructure it brings, long after the hearing transcripts are filed away. A project of this size only earns durable community support if residents get specific, binding answers on water sourcing, noise limits and distance from existing homes, not general assurances that get finalized after the plant is already under construction.
If Beacon’s project supplies its own power rather than drawing off the shared grid, that changes some of the calculus around fairness to other ratepayers. It does not change the calculus for the people who will hear it, see it and live next to its water use every day.
Correction, October 10, 2026. An earlier version attributed the 1.5 million litre daily water figure to Beacon’s own filings and gave hearing dates and data hall details that could not be confirmed. The text now attributes the figure to a public submission and reflects the filed application.
