EverWind has announced plans for more than $10 billion in private investment in a data center campus at Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, the largest privately funded investment in the province's history. The project includes over $8 billion for the campus and $2 billion for EverWind's onshore wind portfolio. San Francisco-based Anthropic was revealed as the long-term leaseholder for the initial phase, making this its first data center in Canada.
Project Scope and Timeline
The Point Tupper campus will begin with a 95-megawatt phase in late 2027, followed by a 325 MW expansion targeted for 2028. At full build-out, the site will provide 420 MW of compute capacity for artificial intelligence and digital services. EverWind says the development will complement existing plans for green hydrogen and ammonia at the same industrial site.
Anthropic said the facility will power Claude models and support growing demand from Canadian and global customers. Jacob Glick, Anthropic Canada Public Policy Head, said Canadians are using Claude in growing numbers and the company wants infrastructure closer to users. The announcement follows Anthropic job postings for Canadian data center community engagement and compute roles.
Economic and Employment Benefits
The project is expected to support roughly 2,000 construction positions and 215 permanent operating positions across the data center campus and wind portfolio. Davis Pier projections indicate the full development will generate about $2 billion in provincial GDP during construction and $2.4 billion in direct construction spending. At full operation, the campus is expected to generate about $137 million in provincial GDP annually, with provincial corporate income tax projected around $1.5 billion over 20 years.
The wind investment will support four projects in EverWind's existing Nova Scotia portfolio: Bear Lake, Windy Ridge, Kmtnuk, and Upper Afton. These projects will add new renewable electricity generation to help meet industrial demand, including demand from the Point Tupper campus. EverWind stated that its commitment to advancing green hydrogen and ammonia projects remains unchanged.
Ratepayer, Water, and Environmental Commitments
EverWind has committed to fully fund all connection, network upgrade, and other electricity system costs attributable to the development so those costs are not passed on to existing Nova Scotia ratepayers. The campus will include several hundred megawatt hours of battery storage to support the facility and help manage grid demand. It will also be designed to reduce or stop drawing electricity from the grid when needed to protect reliability.
The campus will use a closed-loop cooling system in which a water-glycol mixture circulates through a sealed loop rather than being routinely discharged. The initial phase is expected to use about 100,000 liters of water per day, comparable to a large shopping mall. At full build-out, average water use is expected to be approximately 500,000 liters per day, or about 1% of Landrie Lake's identified daily safe yield.
Community and Indigenous Participation
EverWind is committing dedicated funding for community benefits across the Strait Region through a community development program valued in the tens of millions of dollars for the initial phase. Priorities may include local infrastructure, health, housing, workforce development, and regional economic growth. The combined data center and wind development is projected to generate over $400 million in municipal tax revenues.
Negotiations are underway with a First Nations consortium led by Membertou Development Corporation for an ownership stake in the data center campus. Chief Terry Paul of Membertou First Nation said the projects define their nations and shape their futures, with strong Indigenous participation and benefits. EverWind said it will continue to work with communities to ensure its work meets their expectations.
The Point Tupper announcement underscores growing investment in Canadian data center infrastructure and clean energy, with federal and provincial officials welcoming the project. Premier Tim Houston called it a powerful vote of confidence in Nova Scotia. EverWind said the project aligns with Canada's Responsible Data Center Development Principles and Nova Scotia's conditions, ensuring accountability for ratepayers, water resources, and community benefits.
Source: Reuters