• Sault Ste. Marie council has ordered staff to prepare a bylaw that would pause applications for data centres above 50MW
  • The move follows disclosure of a proposed 400MW Algoma Steel and Red Jar project, while a previously approved 5MW facility falls below the threshold

The fact

Sault Ste. Marie City Council has unanimously directed staff to prepare an interim control bylaw that would impose a moratorium on the submission, acceptance and approval of applications for data centres above 50MW. The bylaw is due to return to council on 21 September and is not yet in force.

The proposed pause would remain while the Ontario city develops a municipal framework for large-scale data centres. It follows public debate over data-centre development and the disclosure of a proposed 400MW project involving Algoma Steel and Red Jar Energy Partners.

Red Jar has entered the proposed project into the Independent Electricity System Operator's assessment process. The companies say the project remains at an early stage and has no final approval or investment decision. A previously approved 5MW facility planned by Protexxa and Missanabie Cree Business LP is not expected to be affected because it falls below the proposed 50MW threshold.

The assessment

Sault Ste. Marie is trying to settle its local rules before a project the size of the proposed 400MW development reaches the municipal application stage. The electricity assessment can continue separately, but a project still needs a route through local land-use and development approvals before construction can proceed.

The 50MW threshold gives that distinction some weight. The city is not proposing to stop every data centre. The already approved 5MW project sits below the limit, while a development eight times the proposed threshold could have to wait while councillors decide what information, infrastructure planning and local review should accompany projects of that size.

For BTW readers, the 21 September vote will decide whether that separation becomes an actual development constraint. Until the bylaw is adopted, the city has agreed on the direction of travel but has not yet closed the application route for large projects.

What to watch

The next milestone is the 21 September council meeting and the wording of the interim control bylaw. Its effective date, exemptions and treatment of projects already in provincial assessment will determine how far the pause reaches. The municipal framework that follows will show what developers must provide on land use, infrastructure and local impacts before applications above 50MW can proceed.