{"id":67613,"date":"2026-03-14T12:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T19:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?p=67613"},"modified":"2026-03-14T12:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T19:25:07","slug":"alberta-mega-gas-plant-regulator-rejection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energi.media\/news\/alberta-mega-gas-plant-regulator-rejection\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer Presses Ahead With Mega Gas Plant After Alberta Regulator Rejects \u2018Deficient\u2019 Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This article was published by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theenergymix.com\/developer-presses-ahead-with-mega-gas-plant-after-alberta-regulator-rejects-deficient-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Energy Mix<\/a> on March 12, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>By Jody MacPherson<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Facing community outcry over the location and regulatory rejection, Synapse Real Estate Group says it will continue to pursue its plans for a gas-powered plant and \u201cCanada\u2019s largest\u201d data centre in the small farming town of Olds, Alberta.<\/p>\n<p>Alberta\u2019s utility regulator rejected the company\u2019s application for a 1.4-gigawatt generating plant to supply the proposed artificial intelligence (AI) data centre, which would use as much power as one million homes. The gas plant would generate three times the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.suncor.com\/en-ca\/what-we-do\/oil-sands\/firebag\">power<\/a>\u00a0of Suncor\u2019s Firebag cogeneration plant.<\/p>\n<p>The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theenergymix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/30625_X_AUC-letter-Application-closure_000067.pdf\">issued<\/a>\u00a0[<em>pdf<\/em>] the decision in a letter to Synapse CEO Jason van Gaal on March 6, citing \u201csignificant deficiencies\u201d in environmental evaluations, noise impact assessments, and \u201cparticularly\u201d the company\u2019s failure to consider concerns from those \u201cdirectly and adversely affected by a proposed development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think, ultimately, the AUC wants to make sure that we\u2019re communicating effectively with the community and receiving feedback, and we\u2019re absolutely doing our best to do that,\u201d van Gaal\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thealbertan.com\/writers\/doug%20collie\">told<\/a>\u00a0The Albertan in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Van Gaal replied to\u00a0<em>The Energy Mix\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0questions with a prepared statement, writing, \u201cthe commission made clear this decision does not assess the merits of the project and that Synapse can reapply once the required information is completed. We are reviewing the guidance and will work with regulators and the community to ensure the next application fully meets those requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 40 residents of Olds submitted objections to the Synapse power plant, citing concerns about noise, mental health impacts, health effects of air pollution, water usage, property values, stress on municipal infrastructure, electronic waste, chemicals, and affordability for low-income residents.<\/p>\n<p>But Olds town council welcomed the province\u2019s second-largest gas-powered plant to use 300 acres of farmland within the town\u2019s eastern boundary, reclassifying it as \u201clight industrial.\u201d Olds is about 90 kilometres north of Calgary, and has a renowned agricultural college, beloved locally for its botanic gardens and wetlands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe it is \u2018light industrial\u2019 zoning,\u201d Janey Olson, an 18-year resident of Olds, told\u00a0<em>The<\/em>\u00a0<em>Mix<\/em>. \u201cIf you go by the description of what heavy and light are, this is heavy industrial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olson said a group of residents who attended the town\u2019s zoning meeting had asked the council to \u201cplease table that decision until we know more,\u201d but the zoning decision still went ahead.<\/p>\n<p><em>The<\/em>\u00a0<em>Mix<\/em>\u00a0emailed Olds Mayor Dan Daley about the Synapse project zoning two weeks ago but he has not yet responded. This story will be updated with any new information he provides.<\/p>\n<p>The town had declared the company\u2019s development permit complete the same day the AUC decision was issued. Synapse has now withdrawn its development permit application, according to the Town of Olds website.<\/p>\n<p>In its letter, the AUC said the company could reapply in the future, but detailed several deficiencies:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The participant involvement program lacked detail and sufficient information;<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Information in the environmental evaluation document was provided in draft format;<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Field studies on wildlife and wetlands were incomplete;<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The noise impact assessment did not include the project\u2019s 600 backup diesel generators;<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The plan was missing a reclamation security plan; and<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The company filed an incomplete listing of other approvals required.<\/p>\n<p>Synapse stated in its application that the federal\u00a0<em>Impact Assessment Act\u00a0<\/em>did not apply to the project. But the AUC said Synapse would have had to submit a project description to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to determine whether the\u00a0<em>Act<\/em>\u00a0applies, adding that any new fossil-fired power generating facility with production capacity of 200 megawatts or more falls under the\u00a0<em>Act<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>On March 9, Olds Chief Administrative Officer Brent Williams\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/R1_iBXTcaVI?si=PF28FHWZW0aQY3SC&amp;t=2165\">said<\/a>\u00a0he would be meeting with the company and the AUC separately in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>For some residents, the AUC rejection brings an opportunity to pause and take stock in what has been a busy couple of months since finding out about the proposal.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Carlson, who lives about 600 metres from the proposed site with his wife and three children, told\u00a0<em>The<\/em>\u00a0<em>Mix<\/em>\u00a0he had full trust in the AUC\u2019s process and appreciated the care the commission took to ensure applications meet the required standards before moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>But he is now preparing to go through the process again, since Synapse is pressing on with the power plant in its same location.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Sorenson, whose home is directly across the street from the project,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theenergymix.com\/200-metres-away-residents-rally-to-keep-albertas-second-largest-power-plant-out-of-their-their-backyard\/\">said<\/a>\u00a0she wouldn\u2019t be able to stay if the project goes ahead. A retired paramedic, she told\u00a0<em>The<\/em>\u00a0<em>Mix<\/em>\u00a0she was elated when she heard of the AUC decision, but that was short-lived when she found out Synapse would be reapplying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love Olds, it is a beautiful close-knit community,\u201d she said, \u201cbut there are no health benefits to living next to a power plant.\u201d She has serious concerns for herself and one of her grandsons who suffers from asthma. Sorenson believes the Synapse plant is not appropriate within town limits.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton-based resident doctor Julia Sawatzky, a board member and Alberta regional co-chair for the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theenergymix.com\/albertas-gas-centric-strategy-could-kill-its-ai-data-centre-ambitions-lovins-warns\/\">told<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0<em>Mix<\/em>\u00a0in September that nitrogen oxides from gas turbines are released into local communities, causing air pollution that contributes to respiratory diseases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that nitrogen oxides can contribute to both the development of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s also small particulate matter emitted from gas turbines which is similar to what is in wildfire smoke or other really visible heavy air pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The particulate matter is so small that it can lodge deep in the lungs and also cross over into the bloodstream, contributing to high blood pressure and causing heart attacks and strokes, Sawatzky said.<\/p>\n<p>Gas turbines also emit volatile organic compounds that are known carcinogens, putting people at risk, or higher risk, of various types of cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s actually an environmental justice issue because the projects and the impacts and the harms are being put in places far away from places like Edmonton and Calgary where the decisions tend to be made,\u201d Sawatzky added.<\/p>\n<p>Sorenson said another citizen-led meeting March 13 will a chance for Olds residents to gather to discuss how the power plant and data centre will affect their daily lives. Olson said she\u2019s written a letter to Premier Danielle Smith and, along with several other residents, met with the local Member of the Legislative Assembly, Tara Sawyer. She has questions about cumulative impacts on the regional water supply and whether the province is doing its due diligence on AI data centre developments, but said she has yet to receive answers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not a big city, we are a small town, and I don\u2019t remember when we agreed as a small town to become a tech hub for the province or for our council,\u201d she said. \u201cI just don\u2019t remember that conversation happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Synapse\u2019s public statement about the setback concluded with: \u201cWe have taken the AUC\u2019s guidance and our community\u2019s feedback to heart, and we are pleased to launch\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.synapsedatacenter.com\/we-are-listening\/\">www.synapsedatacenter.com\/we-are-listening\/<\/a>\u00a0as a first step in facilitating our long-term dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The web page includes a series of videos to answer common questions about the project. When Olson watched one of the videos, she noticed it had a \u201cstrange voiceover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI might have been tongue in cheek, but I said, Jason, you didn\u2019t hire a local voice actor, you hired an AI?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>This article was published by The Energy Mix on March 12, 2026. By Jody MacPherson Facing community outcry over the location and regulatory rejection, Synapse Real Estate Group says it will continue to pursue its <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/energi.media\/news\/alberta-mega-gas-plant-regulator-rejection\/\" title=\"Developer Presses Ahead With Mega Gas Plant After Alberta Regulator Rejects \u2018Deficient\u2019 Plan\">[Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":67614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[215,3065,1806,3066,3068,14,3067],"class_list":{"0":"post-67613","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-alberta-natural-gas","9":"tag-alberta-utilities-commission","10":"tag-canadian-energy","11":"tag-energy-policy","12":"tag-energy-regulation","13":"tag-featured","14":"tag-gas-power-plants"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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