Validus Power is making more news in Northern Ontario with the announcement of construction of a new 32,000-square-foot data centre in Kapuskasing that will be powered by a local energy plant.
In a Nov. 5 news release, the Toronto-based energy developer said its Kapuskasing "High Performance Compute" hosting facility is part of a larger $100-million investment in Northern Ontario that involves refurbishing, modernizing and reopening the 45-megawatt Kapuskasing combined cycle power plant acquired by Validus earlier this year. The plant was formerly owned by Atlantic Power and was closed five years ago.
The Toronto-based energy developer participated in a groundbreaking for a similar power plant project in North Bay in conjunction with Bitcoin miner Hut 8.
With support from the Town of Kapuskasing, Validus said this site will be fully operational by early spring, creating 25 engineers, millwrights, and data centre technician jobs.
"This is really exciting for everyone involved and Kapuskasing is an ideal location for us. Reinvesting in Canada and specifically Ontario's north is a natural fit," said Validus president-CEO Todd Shortt in a news release. "A data centre designed for high performance compute with steady reliable power fits well in a cool climate if you want to promote maximum operational efficiency."
In a statement, Kapuskasing Mayor David Plourde expressed his excitement with the project.
"Bringing new and diverse jobs to the area is great for the economy and community overall. Also, incorporating our continuing reforestation program with Validus' ESG initiatives is very synergistic."
Validus Power is in expansion mode with ambitious plans to acquire power plants to serve the rapidly growing Bitcon and Blockchain mining community, high performance compute and hyperscale data center markets.
In acquiring the Kapuskasing and North Bay power plant sites, offering a combined total of 90 megawatts, Validus' plans are to expand the combined power capacity to 150 megawatts.
